


Pas de Duex of Life

by cowlover2



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Fairy Tale Elements, M/M, Slow Burn, princess tutu au, rated t because yurio is probably going to curse in this
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-18
Updated: 2018-11-02
Packaged: 2018-12-16 05:19:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 47,115
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11822031
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cowlover2/pseuds/cowlover2
Summary: Yuri Katsuki is a ballet student at the prestigious Gold Crown Academy. However Yuri's life gets turned around when he finds out his idol Victor is actually a prince from a story who shattered his heart, and and that Yuri himself is the only one who can piece Victor's heart back together! However, is Yuri up to the task when he himself, is only a piglet?*A Princess Tutu AU*





	1. The Pig and the Prince

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone, welcome to my new fanfic! I started working on this one in January but I kind of dropped it because of school. Now I'm graduated and I finally decided to pick the story back up. Princess Tutu is my favorite anime of all time so I really wanted to make this AU for it. I hope you like it!
> 
> Fic title comes from the Princess Tutu OP

_Once upon a Time, there was a man who died._

_The man’s work was the writing and telling of stories. But he could not defy death. The last story he was working on was about a brave and handsome prince, who vanquishes a crafty raven. But now, it seems their battle will go on for eternity._

_“I’m sick and tired of this!” cried the Raven._

_“I’m sick and tired of this!” cried the Prince as well._

_The Raven escaped from the pages of the story, and the Prince pursued the fell creature. In the end, the Prince took out his own heart, and sealed the Raven away using a forbidden power. Just then, a murmur came from somewhere._

_“This is great!” said the old man who was supposed to have died._

**_…_ **

Yuri sat in a field surrounded by tall grass and wildflowers. A warm, floral breeze wafted through the air as he basked in the sun. The sounds of songbirds surrounded him. It was a perfect day, as he sat and watched the prince dance.

The Prince was a magnificent dancer. Every turn that he made was smooth, every jump was flawless. It’s as if the prince was born to dance. Yuri couldn’t believe that he got to watch the prince up close. The prince’s long silver hair flew around him as he twirled through the wildflowers, a serene look upon his face. His long limbs looked ethereal as he moved through each step in his dance.

Yuri sighed dreamily as he thought to himself. “ _I want to dance with him._ ” He knew it was a doomed thought. There was no way the prince would ever dance with him, as he was only a piglet.

That’s right, as he sat in the flowers watching the beautiful prince dance, he remembered that he was only a pig. He could not hold the prince’s hand as he only had small hooves. He couldn’t dance with the prince on his short stumpy legs. He could not even talk to the prince, not with his piggy snorts.

But it was alright. Yuri didn’t mind. As long as he got to watch the prince dance, it was enough. However, the prince always looked so lonely. Yuri didn’t understand how someone with such beautiful dances could have such lonely eyes. Yuri wished he could make the prince smile. He wished he could let the prince know that he was there with him. But he was just a pig.

As Yuri watched the prince spin through the grasses, Yuri noticed him growing further and further away.

“ _Wait_!” Yuri snorted, getting up and trotting after the prince. He didn’t want the prince to stop yet, he didn’t want this dance to end but even as Yuri ran as fast as he could, the prince vanished without a trace.

Suddenly, the warm air around Yuri turned cold and the area around him darkened, as if the sun had been snuffed out. Yuri shivered and looked around, but he could not find the source of his unease.

“ ** _So, a little piglet like you actually cares for the prince_** _?”_

Yuri froze as the loud voice came from nowhere. Who had spoken to him? Where had they come from? Before Yuri could even snort, two large eyes emerged from the fog, glaring at Yuri.

OINK!

Yuri awoke to find himself not in a field of wildflowers, but on the floor of a small room. And he was no longer a piglet, but a young boy. Half of his body was on the floor, anyway. His legs were still tangled in the covers on his bed. He shook his legs out and lied on the floor, puzzled by his bizarre dream.

It wasn’t the first time he had experienced the dream. It was always the same. He was a pig, watching a beautiful prince dance. Being a pig always sucked, but he never got tired of the prince’s dancing. Yuri sighed, standing up and walking over to the window in his room, opening it up to allow the soft early morning sunbeams to illuminate his dorm. He poked his head out the window, looking up at a dorm room on a floor above his.

“ _Good morning Victor,_ ” Yuri thought to himself, smiling. Maybe the prince in his dream was modeled after Victor. Victor was almost a prince though. He was a prince to Yuri.

In the distance Yuri heard the loud chimes of the school’s clocktower and immediately panicked.

“Oh god I’m late!” Yuri yelled, slipping off his nightshirt and scrambling to throw on his school uniform. His fingers kept fumbling with the buttons on his white dress shirt, but after pulling on his gray suspenders and slipping on his uniform jacket along with his black shoes, he grabbed his book bag off his desk and rushed out of the room.

“Phichit you’re so mean, why didn’t you wake me up?” Yuri yelled as he thundered out of the dorm, determined to make it to class somewhat on time.

After a few moments, Phichit, one of the other students in the ballet division and one of Yuri’s best friends, poked his head out of his room, rubbing his eyes.

“Yuriiii, it’s six in the morning,” Phichit groaned, but seeing that his friend had already left, he yawned and shut his dorm room door. “Guess he’ll figure it out.”

…

Yuri stood outside the classroom door, trying to catch his breath. He felt like he looked like a mess, he had gotten all sweaty from running to class and he hadn’t really made himself very presentable trying to make it to class on time. Plus, he had needed to stop in the locker room to throw on his practice clothing which had made him even later. He ran his fingers through his hair a few times trying to tame his bedhead before quietly opening the door to the ballet room. If he was lucky his teacher would be distracted with teaching and wouldn’t notice that he snuck in. However, when he was fully in the classroom, he noticed that it was empty, except for one person.

As the soft sounds of the [Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rapf3g_XvCc) played throughout the practice room, he gasped in awe as he saw who was dancing.

Victor Nikiforov was the primary dancer for the special class at Gold Crown Academy. He had beautiful, long, platinum hair that fell around his porcelain skin like a waterfall. He was tall and every move he made was fluid. His dancing was the definition of perfection. It almost seemed like the moves came too easy to him, as if Victor never showed off the dancing he could really do.

“Wow,” Yuri sighed, then slapped his hands over his mouth in embarrassment when he realized he had spoken out loud. Victor stopped and looked over at Yuri, and Yuri wished he could melt into the floor.

“I-uh- I’m so sorry!” Yuri said bowing his head. “I-I didn’t mean to disturb your practice, I can just leave, yeah I’ll just leave now.” Yuri rigidly straightened out his body and backed up as he rambled, his arm back stretched while he reached for the door handle. However, as he was backing up, his foot slipped out from underneath him and he found himself falling to the floor.

“ _Oh god I slipped in front of Victor, he’s going to think I’m an idiot, and he doesn’t even know who I am. Jeez Yuri, why are you like this?”_

Yuri shut his eyes tight and braced for impact with the ground, however none came. Strong arms came around him and grabbed him right before he hit the ground. Yuri peeked one eye open to find that Victor had caught him and they were now sitting on the floor.

“ _Oh my god Victor is holding me, he caught me, I can’t believe this, I must still be dreaming_ ” Yuri thought, feeling his face turn beet red. Yuri had never gotten the nerve to be this close to Victor. Victor had beautiful blue eyes that Yuri felt he could be drawn into, but they looked… sad. No, not sad, lonely. Yuri wondered why Victor would be so lonely.

Yuri snapped out of his daydream and sat straight up, feeling like he was going to combust. He quickly scooted away from Victor and started rambling. “Oh my god, I’m so sorry, I’m such a klutz – thanks for catching me by the way, guess I never said that- god and now I’m rambling. Phichit always teases me because I ramble a lot when I get nervous and wow, I’m probably bothering you, I’m so sorry! God, I’m so weird.” Yuri finished, sighing and hiding his face in his hands.

“I don’t think you’re weird.”

Yuri’s head snapped back up and looked at Victor. He wasn’t so sure those words had been real. “W-what?”

“I don’t think you’re weird,” Victor replied again. His speech pattern was rather monotone, but Yuri could tell that Victor was sincere. Yuri didn’t think his face could get any redder but his ears suddenly felt hot.

“T-thank you,” Yuri mumbled, poking his pointer fingers together. People never really said nice things about him so hearing his idol say something like that meant the world.

Suddenly, the door to the practice room slammed open and a loud voice accompanied it.

“VICTOR, ARE YOU- oh, there you are idiot.” The boy who had roughly opened the door was Yuri Plisetsky, and he was also in Gold Crown Academy’s special class with Victor. For some reason Victor had nicknamed him Yurio, and the name had spread throughout the whole class and had stuck, despite Yuri’s hatred of the name. Although he was young, he had real talent, and he had quickly rose to the special class when he had entered the academy. Their teacher said his only problem was that he was very angry, and sometimes his rage showed in his dancing.

“How many times do I need to tell you not to leave the dorm without me? Jeez you’re hopeless,” Yurio said, pointedly ignoring Yuri.

“Sorry,” Victor replied.

“C’mon, let’s go. You probably skipped breakfast again, right?” Yurio said grumpily. Victor nodded, and tried to get up but one of his legs fell out from under him.

“What’s wrong?” Yurio asked, furrowing his eyebrows.

“My foot,” Victor said, looking at the foot in question. “Twisted it.”

Yuri’s heart sank down to his stomach. “ _Oh god, Victor hurt himself saving me, I suck, I’m such an idiot.”_

“Idiot,” Yurio huffed, pulling Victor up and letting the taller boy lean on him. “How’d you do that?”

“Uh- I- he,” Yuri began to answer, but stopped when Yurio’s head snapped in his direction.

“Spit it out already!” Yurio yelled at Yuri, causing Yuri to jump.

“I t-tripped and h-he caught me when I was falling,” Yuri stuttered.

Yurio looked at Victor. “Why would you do something so pointless?”

“He was helping me!” Yuri exclaimed.

“Like I said, pointless. Come on Victor, let’s go,” Yurio snapped, practically dragging Victor after him. The door of the practice room slammed shut and Yuri sighed.

“ _You don’t have to be so rude about it,_ ” Yuri thought to himself. In the distance, he heard the sound of the clock tower again and Yuri groaned. He was so dumb, class wasn’t even close to starting yet. “ _Phichit will never let me live this down_.”

…

“I can’t believe you didn’t check your clock!” Phichit said, laughing hard as he helped Yuri stretch.

“I know, okay, I just panicked,” Yuri defended, reaching towards his toes.

“Oh well, at least you got to drool all over Victor,” Phichit said, smirking as Yuri’s cheeks flushed for what seemed like the thousandth time that day.

“I did not _drool_ over him!” Yuri whined, causing Phichit to laugh again. They heard a clap behind them and turned to see their teacher walk into the practice room. Their teacher’s name was Celestino, but the class called him Ciao Ciao because, well-

“Ciao ciao class!” Celestino said clapping again. “Alright, members of the special class, please go practice in practice room B, I will be with you momentarily. Beginner class, line up at the barre.”

Phichit, part of the special class, patted Yuri on the back. “See you later Yuri.” Yuri waved at Phichit as his friend walked off. Yuri sighed. He wished he was in the special class. Yuri was lucky if he could stay out of the probationary class. It wasn’t that he was bad at ballet, he was actually quite talented. He just had so much anxiety that his performances were never that good.

The beginner class spent the morning practicing their basics, and before they stopped for lunch Ciao Ciao came in with an announcement.

“Alright class, I have a special surprise for you before we break for lunch,” Ciao Ciao said. “The special class has been practicing a new performance, and they would like to perform it for you now!” Ciao Ciao turned around and clapped. “Special class, entra!”

The door opened and three of the four members of the special class came in. The first to enter was Christophe Giacometti. Chris was tall with blonde hair and a brown undercut. He always had a sly look on his face, like he knew something you didn’t. Excepting Victor, Chris was the most talented dancer in the special class. Yuri had not talked to Chris much, but Phichit said he was rather relaxed and easy to get along with. Chris and Victor were also very good friends. The next to enter was Phichit himself. He subtly gave Yuri a little wave before falling in line next to Chris. The last to enter was Yurio, with his classic glare on his face. Yuri’s face fell when Victor did not come in with the rest of the class. He must have hurt his foot badly if he was skipping practice. Yuri felt awful.

Yuri was always amazed by the special classes’ talent. Each one of the members had worked so hard to be in the special class, and it showed. Each dancer was so in sync with each other, each movement perfectly placed. Yuri was always astounded to see Phichit dancing with these elite dancers, not because he thought Phichit was a bad dancer, but because this serious side of his friend wasn’t something he saw all the time.

Once the special class had finished their dance and the applause stopped, Celestino let everyone break so they could get cleaned up to go to lunch. Yuri quickly got up and darted over to where Yurio was.

“Uh, hey, Yurio?” Yuri asked hesitantly.

“Huh?” the young dancer said, tilting his head towards Yuri, his blonde hair falling over his eye. “Oh, what do you want?”

“I um” Yuri said, wringing his hands. “I just wanted to ask if Victor was okay? I mean, I’m guessing he’s not because he’s not in practice today but, um, I guess I just wanted to apologize to him again-"

“God, shut up!” Yurio said, flipping his hair out of his face. “You talk so much. Victor’s fine, you don’t need to worry. Just leave him alone.”

“I, uh,” Yuri stammered, trying to talk again, but Yurio just stood up and stomped out. Yuri was going to follow him out but then Ciao Ciao called his name. Yuri sighed and shuffled over to where his teacher was standing.

“Yuri, you were a little out of focus today, is something wrong?” Ciao Ciao asked.

“No” Yuri lied. He really didn’t want to explain to his teacher that he was the reason Victor wasn’t in class today.

“You’re talented Yuri,” Celestino continued. “I know with a bit more practice, you could go far. Maybe even make it to the special class.”

Yuri raised his hands in front of his body defensively. “No way! I could never be as good as the special class.”

Ciao Ciao placed a hand on Yuri’s shoulder. “Don’t sell yourself so short Yuri. You’re a good dancer. I wish you could see it.” He clapped his hand on Yuri’s shoulder. “Have a good lunch Yuri, and let me know if you need anything. I’m here for you, okay?” Yuri nodded quickly and walked out of the practice room. He could never make it in the special class. Someone like him dance so beautifully? Ridiculous.

,,,

After class, Yuri walked back to his dorm room all alone. Phichit was staying after for an extra practice session with the special class, and Yuri didn’t really have any other friends.

As Yuri came upon the boy’s dormitory, he couldn’t help sneaking a peak at Victor’s dorm room, and he was surprised to see Victor at the window. He had the window open and was sitting on the ledge watching some canaries that had nested in the gutter on the roof of the building. Yuri couldn’t help but smile at the sight. On the outside, Victor seemed apathetic, but Yuri felt like Victor deeply cared about others. He just didn’t always show it.

Without warning, a black crow flew over to the birds, and started to attack the fledglings that were learning to fly. Yuri gasped as he helplessly watched the small birds trying to fend off the larger crow. One got knocked out of the air, and Yuri expected the bird to plummet to the ground, but suddenly hands had grasped around the creature, and Yuri was horrified to see that Victor had thrown himself out the window to catch the baby bird.

“No! Victor!” Yuri yelled, dropping his bookbag and running towards the dorm. The world seemed to be moving in slow motion as he watched Victor falling through the air. Yuri didn’t know what he could do, but he had to do something. He couldn’t just let Victor die.

“ ** _Oh dear, the prince is going to die_** _.”_

_Die?_

_“ **The hero meets his death**.”_

_Death?_

_“ **What’s going to happen in this story? You must tell me! Is this prince going to make it? Can you save him**? **Do you care for him? Are you saying that you’ll tell me this story?”**_

“I will! I will save him!” Yuri yelled, and as he ran, the red jewel pendant that always hung around his neck started to glow and his body felt warm. A light enveloped him and suddenly he began to change. The glasses that sat upon his face disappeared and his black hair slicked back and was topped by a small golden crown. His school uniform was transformed into a brilliant ballet costume, a short sleeved white tailcoat with a pale pink undercoat and white tights, and perfect pink pointe shoes. His simple jeweled pendant also transformed into a gleaming new necklace.

“ ** _Now do you remember who you are, little piglet?_ ”**

“I am Prince Tutu!” Yuri exclaimed, and with that he began to pirouette, causing beautiful flowers to appear under his feet. He spun and spun and thousands of flowers appeared, covering the ground. Yuri saw Victor fall into the flowers out of the corner of his eye, so he pranced over to him. Victor looked up at Tutu, and then down at his hands, where he was carefully clutching the small bird. The canary squeaked and then clumsily flew out of Victors hands, the two watching as it fluttered away.

“I’m so happy I was able to reach you in time Victor,” Yuri said, gently helping Victor out of the pile of flowers he had fallen into.

“How… do you know me?” Victor asked, seemingly in a daze. “Who are you?”

“I am…” Yuri replied, hesitating.

“ ** _Do you truly remember? Little piglet? Yes, that’s all that you are, just a pig. A lowly farm animal._** ”

Yuri quickly let go of Victors hand and slowly backed away. That’s right. Who was he kidding? He wasn’t a hero, he wasn’t even a human. As Yuri ran away he remembered.

He was just a piglet.

[](https://www.flickr.com/photos/158968595@N05/36966071751/in/dateposted/)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's Chapter 1, I hope you enjoyed it! If you want to talk about the fic, or just talk about anything in general, feel free to leave a comment here OR message me on my [ tumblr](http://cowlover2.tumblr.com)!
> 
> The art at the end of the chapter was drawn by me! You can check it out on my tumblr: [ link](http://cowlover2.tumblr.com/post/165122124349/so-as-yall-know-ive-been-working-on-a-yuri-on)
> 
> Just a note- This fic is deviating from the plot of the anime! Victuuri is still endgame, so stay tuned if you want to see that develop!


	2. Pieces of the Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yuri learns about the purpose of Prince Tutu

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's to chapter 2! I'm having alot of fun writing this. I hope you guys enjoy reading too.

_Once upon a time, there was a man who died._

_The last story the man was writing was about a brave and handsome prince who vanquishes a crafty raven. When the man died, the raven and the prince escaped from withinthe story. The prince took out his own heart, to seal away the raven. But this power, which had been granted solely to him, was nevertheless forbidden._

_Thus sealed, the raven troubled them no more. But the prince’s heart was shattered, and the shards scattered all over town. Ever since then, stories and reality have intermingled in the town, making it a world where the fantastical is no longer fantastical._

_…_

Yuri groaned as his eyes blinked open. He was surrounded by grasses and wildflowers. Was he dreaming again? He slowly stood up.

“ _Where… am I?”_ Yuri thought to himself, looking around. He looked down and saw… hooves?”

“What???” Yuri squealed, turning around frantically. Instead of his regular body, he found himself with pale pink skin, a curly tail, and instead of words all that came out was grunts and snorts.

“ _I… I really am just a pig,_ ” Yuri observed. “ _I thought I was a boy… but I’m just a pig.”_ Yuri felt like he was going to cry. What everything just a dream? Just a delusion that he dreamt up because he wanted a different life?

Suddenly, an amused laugh echoed through the air, sending a chill through Yuri. “ ** _You’re not dreaming little piglet.”_** Yuri suddenly saw a figure out of the corner of his eyes. The figure kept moving from shadow to shadow, making it hard for him to figure out what the figure looked like. He could tell it was a man, and from the voice he could tell the man was older, but Yuri wasn’t sure how the man looked.

“W-who are you?” Yuri snorted. “I-I’ve heard you before. You were there, when Victor fell out the window. You were in my dream!”

**_“Calm down, yes I was there. I’ve always been here. You may call me Yakov.”_** The figure replied. “ ** _Now, do you still want to save the prince who has lost his heart?”_**

“Wait… by prince… do you mean Victor?” Yuri asked.

**_“Yes, yes, Victor is a prince from the story I was writing. In the story, he fought a dastardly raven. However, they both escaped the story and the prince shattered his own heart to seal the raven away.”_ **

“S-shattered?” Yuri asked, confused.

**_“Yes, and now those shards wander around the city, unable to return to the prince,”_** Yakov continued. “ ** _Prince Tutu is the only one capable of returning the prince’s heart to him._** ”

“P-prince Tutu?” Yuri stuttered. That magnificent person who saved Victor, they were real? And they were _him_?

“ ** _If you have the resolve to help the prince, I can turn you into a boy once again.”_**

“Really?” Yuri exclaimed. “I can really see Victor again?”

**_“If you have the resolve.”_ **

“Of course I do!” Yuri snorted. “If… if I could make him smile, if I could take the loneliness from his eyes… I would do anything to help him be happy.”

“ ** _Wish granted little piglet. I’ll turn you back into a boy. But know this, if you do or say anything that resembles a pig, you will turn back into a piglet.”_**

With that the figure reached out his hands and dropped the red jewel pendant back around Yuri’s neck, and his body grew warm again. His body stretched and grew and soon he was a boy once more. Yuri lifted his head to thank Yakov, but the stranger was nowhere to be found. Yuri sighed, and looked down, and then he realized, he was completely naked. He shrieked and crouched down in the grass.

“ _What am I going to do?”_ Yuri thought. “ _I can’t go back into town like this! People would think I’m crazy!”_

Yuri sat, stewing over his predicament, when a soft melody began to drift through the air. Yuri looked up to see a woman walking towards him. She had long brown hair that was partly tied back and brown eyes that seemed stern but kind. She was tall and thin, with a dancer’s body. She was wearing a dark blue tailcoat, black pants, and short black boots. In front of her, she pushed a cart, which had a music box at the top that she was turning a crank to play the music. She stopped in front of Yuri and smiled.

“Even as a boy you still look a little pig-like,” the woman said, leaning down to look through her cart. “You still have the same piggy gut.”

“Um, who are you?” Yuri asked, puzzled.

“You can call me Minako,” She said standing up and winking at Yuri. She held out her arms and Yuri saw she was holding his school uniform. “I think you might be missing these.”

Yuri quickly got changed and then began to follow Minako back to town. As they walked, Yuri tried asking Minako about all the questions that had been pressing on his mind.

“So, have I always been a pig? Because I never remember being a pig, I only remember being a boy,” Yuri questioned.

“Sometimes stories are born quickly, they start suddenly, with no warning,” Minako explained while pushing her cart. “Someday the story will end, just as all stories do.”

Yuri looked at her, confused. “That… didn’t really answer my question. It actually just made me more confused.”

Minako smirked as they came to a stop in front of the gates of Gold Crown Academy. “All will be explained in time. Just be patient Yuri.”

Yuri pouted, making Minako laugh. She began to push her cart and wave at Yuri. “See you again soon.”

Yuri waved at Minako until she was far down the street, then he began to slowly walk to his dorm. He had a lot to think about. A lot had changed in his life, but to the rest of the world, nothing had changed. Yuri was not only a piglet, but he could also turn into the magical Prince Tutu. Also, Victor was a prince with no heart. And Yuri was in charge of collecting the pieces of Victor’s heart. What did the heart shards even look like? Would he know if he saw one? Yuri didn’t know. That was a problem for future Yuri.

…

Later that night, Yuri was walking back to the dorm with Phichit after dinner, but he was surprised to see Victor sitting on a bench reading a book. Yuri yelped and hid behind Phichit.

“Wait, what’s happening?” Phichit asked, twisting around to look at Yuri. “Why are we hiding?”

“Victor is over there,” Yuri hissed, trying to get Phichit to keep walking. “He probably hates me because I’m the reason he hurt himself.”

“Well I mean,” Phichit replied. “He can’t be that hurt if he made it down here. Plus, you know Victor, I’m pretty sure he doesn’t have the capacity for hatred. His brain is like ninety nine percent ballet skills and one percent general apathy. Now Yurio, Yurio might hate you, but I’m not really sure if there’s anyone Yurio doesn’t hate.”

“Ugh, I should probably still apologize to Victor though, right?” Yuri groaned.

“You do you Yuri, you have my support in all things,” Phichit said, patting Yuri on the back.

Yuri groaned. “I’m going. You can head back if you want.”

“I want a full report when you make it back to the dorm!” Phichit replied. “Go Yuri go!”

Phichit kept cheering for Yuri as he marched back to their dormitory, making Yuri’s cheeks flush. Yuri took a deep breath and then stiffly walked over to where Victor was sitting.

“H-hey Victor,” Yuri said shakily, stopping in front of Victor.

Victor looked up at Yuri, closing his book. “Hello.”

“Uh, um, I-I just wanted to apologize again,” Yuri said. “I’m really sorry for being such a clutz! Is- is your foot okay?”

“It’s fine,” Victor replied. “Doesn’t hurt anymore.”

Yuri breathed out a sigh of relief. “Thank goodness. I was worried that you were really hurt when you weren’t in class all day.”

“Yurio made me stay in our room all day,” Victor explained.

“Oh,” Yuri replied. “That sounds… boring.”

Victor shrugged. “Not really. I don’t know.”

Yuri frowned. He knew now that Victor didn’t have a heart, so he couldn’t feel emotions. Now, talking to Victor, he realized how much it must affect Victor. He didn’t know what it felt to be bored, or to have fun, or to find something interesting. It kind of made Yuri sad.

“Um, well, I guess I’ll let you get back to your book,” Yuri said. “Have a good evening.” Victor nodded and Yuri quickly rushed away. He had to find Victor’s heart shards for him. Yuri wanted to see Victor smile, he wanted Victor to be able to have fun, and to enjoy himself. He would find the heart shards, no matter what.

…

“Alright class, settle down,” Ciao Ciao said. “Now, before I send the special class off to their practice room, I wanted to let you know that I’m implementing a new testing procedure. In order for me to fairly distribute students in each class, once a month from now on I will hold a test to see your skill level. If you work hard, you may be able to earn a slot in the special class, but if you slack off, I may drop you into the probationary class. Any questions?” When he was met with silence, Ciao Ciao clapped. “Alright then, if you think of any questions, ask me later. Our first test will be at the end of this week. Special class, please go to your practice room, beginner class, please start on your warm ups, and I will be right back!”

Yuri sighed. Like he needed more of a reason to freak out about being dropped to the probationary class. He sensed some late nights of stress practicing in the coming days.

After classes ended for the day, Yuri dressed back in his practice clothes and walked back into the practice room. He was surprised to find that there wasn’t a lot of ballet students practicing for their test. At this time, there was only one boy in the room. Yuri knew the boy’s name was Leo de la Iglesia, and that he was also in the beginner class, but other than that, Yuri had never really talked to Leo. Leo had shoulder length wavy brown hair and tan skin. He wasn’t very tall, and didn’t have a typical dancer’s build, but who was Yuri to judge. From what Yuri had seen, Leo’s dances were always rather laid back, but Leo was still rather disciplined.

Yuri walked back towards the barre to start some stretching. As he was stretching, he heard a loud thud and a soft curse. Yuri turned towards the noise and saw that Leo had fallen onto the ground, presumably from practicing a spin.

“A-are you alright?” Yuri asked.

Leo hit the ground with his fist. “I can’t get this stupid turn right, and I need it if I want to stay out of the probationary class. It’s so easy, why can’t I get it?”

“Um, I could help you practice if you want?” Yuri suggested. “I could like, spot you or something?”

All of the sudden, it was like all the light had faded out of Leo’s eyes. His body sagged in defeat. “What does it matter? I’m not good enough anyway.” Leo stood up and began to make his way out of the practice room.

“Wait, Leo!” Yuri said, rushing over to Leo and grabbing his wrist. As his fingers closed around Leo’s arm, the red pendant around Yuri’s next glowed brightly.

“Let go!” Leo yelled, yanking his arm out of Yuri’s hand. Leo rushed out of the practice room, leaving Yuri with his pendant that was no longer glowing.

“ _Was that… one of Victor’s heart shards?”_ Yuri thought, examining the pendant. “ _Does Leo have a heart shard? And if so, how do I get it?”_

_…_

The rest of the week passed by in a blur. While stressing over his upcoming exam, Yuri also kept trying to get Leo alone to see if he could get the heart shard, but to his dismay, Leo stopped coming to extra practices, and he avoided Yuri during regular practice.

Yuri could see a deterioration in the quality of Leo’s dancing. Leo looked tired and frustrated, and his dancing reflected it. Leo was constantly falling and messing up even the most basic dance moves. Yuri figured it was Victor’s heart shard that was causing Leo to behave like this, but Yuri wasn’t sure how to get the heart shard. What did a heart shard even look like?

As the day of the exam arrived, Yuri went to the practice room earlier than usual, not only to get some last-minute practice in, but also to try and see if he could intercept Leo. Yuri luckily got his chance as Leo was already in the room as Yuri walked in. Yuri was worried. Leo, didn’t look well at all. He had dark circles under his eyes and his long hair looked greasy and unwashed. The dance he was practicing was harsh and intimidating, pushing back at Yuri with some unseen force. Yuri’s pendant began to glow, and once again Yuri’s body began to feel warm as his transformation into Prince Tutu occurred. Once over, Tutu pranced over to Leo.

“Please Leo, come dance with me,” Tutu said, twirling his hands over his head and beckoning Leo over to him.

“Have you just come to laugh at my dancing too?” Leo asked, looking warily at Tutu.

“I would never do that to you,” Tutu replied. “Everyone’s dancing is beautiful in its own way, but it seems as though you are not dancing true to yourself.”

“Of course I am!” Leo said, and he began to pirouette, causing strong gusts of wind to gather around him. “This is my way of dancing!”

Tutu covered his face as the wind pushed against him. “Your dancing is filled with so much pain Leo! What is making you hurt so much?”

“I’m never good enough!” Leo yelled as he danced. “I practice and I practice but I can never be good enough! Everyone is so much better than I am, I feel like I should just give up! But if I dance like this, the audience will have to surrender to my dance!”

“Oh Leo,” Tutu murmured. He spun over to Leo, cutting through the winds and reaching towards Leo again. “Everyone has those thoughts sometimes! Everyone has moments where they feel like they aren’t good enough. But is this how you truly feel Leo?”

Leo slowly stopped spinning and dizzily looked at Tutu. “W-what?”

Prince Tutu reached for Leo’s hand. “Please, dance with me Leo. I want to see how you truly dance.”

Leo shakily took Tutu’s hand, and the two began to slowly dance together. It started slow, but then soon the two began to freely spin and dance around the practice room, without a care in the world. Leo even began to laugh.

“See Leo?” Tutu said. “So free and filled with hope. This is your way of dance.”

“ I feel, so wonderful,” Leo murmured, then he slowly knelt on the ground. Suddenly, a red glow appeared around Leo, and what looked like a transparent person stepped out of Leo. Tutu was surprised to see that the person looked like Victor, and he realized that this must be the heart shard. The heart shard looked at Tutu.

“I am the feeling of bitter disappointment, shattered and forgotten,” the heart shard said with Victor’s voice.

“This is not the place to which you belong,” Tutu replied, extending his hand toward the shard. “It’s time for you to return home.”

“I can go back?” The shard asked with wide eyes. Tutu nodded and the shard smiled. “Thank goodness.” The shard then transformed into what looked like a red rough cut jewel and floated into Tutu’s hands. Tutu turned, and surprisingly Victor was standing in the door of the practice room. Tutu slowly walked over to Victor.

“My prince, I believe this belongs to you,” Tutu said, and gently pressed the heart shard to Victor’s chest, causing the shard to sink into Victor’s chest with a red glow.

Victor grimaced slightly and lifted his hands to his chest. “W-what?” Tutu smiled, and then pranced out of the practice room so he wouldn’t be seen.

Victor collapsed onto his knees, which is where Yurio found him when he arrived into the practice room moments later.

“Victor!” Yurio cried, running to Victor’s side. “What’s wrong with you?”

“Why do I feel like this Yurio?” Victor asked, his hands still grasping the front of his shirt. “I don’t understand.”

“Feeling?” Yurio asked, furrowing his brow. Victor shouldn’t feel anything. If he was starting to feel… it wasn’t good.  

…

“Alright class, gather round!” Ciao Ciao said, standing in the middle of the practice room. Once all his students were standing around him, he spoke again. “Good, well I won’t drag it out, I have the results of your practice exam. There were a few changes, however I can let you know that the special class has remained unchanged. Congrats to the four of you.” Ciao Ciao said, nodding towards the special class members. The class broke out in applause. Phichit smiled widely and exaggeratedly bowed in front of the class. Chris winked and blew a kiss at the class. Yurio just glared at the class, and Victor gave a small wave.

“The rest of you, I have your results,” Celestino said, waving some sheets of paper he was holding in his hands. “Please come get them as I call your name. If you have any questions, please ask me after I’ve passed everyone’s results out.”

Yuri’s heart hammered in his ears as he waited for Celestino to call his name. He was sure he was going to be dropped to the probationary class, he had flubbed a spin and some of his footwork had been sloppy. However, he was shocked to see that he was still in the beginner class when Ciao Ciao handed him his paper.

“Good work Yuri,” Ciao Ciao told him. “I can tell you’ve been practicing hard. Keep it up and I might have to make an extra slot for you in the special class.”

Yuri hugged his paper to his chest. “Thank you, sir!” he exclaimed, smiling. Ciao Ciao walked away to give another student their results, when an arm suddenly hooked itself around Yuri’s neck.

“Congratulations Yuri! I knew you were going to do great!” Phichit said, hugging his friend.

“Thanks Phichit,” Yuri said, beaming. He slowly looked around the room towards Leo, who had just gotten his paper and was listening to Celestino. Once Celestino had finished talking to Leo, Yuri extracted himself from Phichit’s arms and walked over to Leo.

“So, Leo,” Yuri said cautiously. “How’d you do?”

Leo smiled sadly. “I got dropped to the probationary class for a month. But, I’m okay. I just have to work hard to get better at my style of dance.”

Yuri smiled. “I’m sure you’ll do great Leo.” Yuri waved and started to walk back Phichit. He felt good. Along with restoring some of Victor’s heart, he was able to help another student. He felt like being Prince Tutu was worth it then, if he could help a lot of people.

Yuri laughed to himself. Who would have thought that a piglet could be so useful?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so ends chapter 2! As always, if you want to talk to me about yoi or princess tutu or anything, feel free to leave a comment or message me on my [ tumblr](http://cowlover2.tumblr.com)!


	3. A Prince's Oath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yuri finds another of Victor's heart shards. Can he get the shard and heal a broken heart?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's chapter 3 you guys! Sorry it took so long to write. I was dealing with Hurricane Harvey for the past week (I am okay!)  
> I hope you're enjoying this fanfic, I'm still having alot of fun writing it. Thank you for all the kudos!

Chapter 3: A Prince’s Vow

_Once upon a time, there was a man who died._

_The story was interrupted. Along with his heart, the prince lost his kindness towards other people, and even his memories of ever having fought bravely. Meanwhile, scattered throughout the town, the shards of the prince’s heart sought places to settle, and found their way into people’s hearts which had a void in them. Among those possessed by the shards, were some who ended up making their own tales go awry._

**_…_ **

“Yuri, your butt’s sticking out.”

Yuri quickly straightened back up. “Sorry Phichit.” The two were practicing their basics and Phichit had challenged him to a competition. Whoever could walk across the practice room balancing the most books on their head would win, loser would buy dinner. Yuri had agreed, but at this rate it looked like Phichit would probably win. Yuri was currently struggling with three on his head. He really wanted Phichit to lose though, considering Yuri always paid for dinner when the two went out together.

“I mean, if you don’t want to compete anymore, you could always forfeit,” Phichit said with a wicked grin.

Yuri frowned. “In your dreams Chulanont.”

However, Yuri found himself defeated after three when four books fell off his head and onto the floor. Phichit was barely able to keep five books on his head, but somehow, he managed it.

“Yay!” Phichit said, pumping his fists in the air.

“Ugh, this sucks,” Yuri said, picking up the books that had fallen from his head.

“Let’s go!” Phichit said, coming up behind his friend and gently pushing him. “I’m starving!”

 “Alright, calm down,” Yuri said laughing. They finished cleaning up their mess and after changing out of their practice clothes, they made their way to a local café near Gold Crown Academy. The restaurant had a little bit of everything, so the two never tired of eating there.

As they were walking, Phichit’s eyes perked up. “Hey look, it’s Chris and Victor.” Before Yuri could stop his friend, Phichit waved and yelled out “Chris! Victor! Hey!” Yuri shyly stood behind Phichit and tried not to have an internal meltdown.

Chris and Victor stopped in their tracks, and Chris waved back at Phichit. “Hello Phichit, and hello to you too Yuri.”

Yuri shyly waved back. “Hey.”

“Yuri and I were going to get some dinner; do you guys want to come with?” Phichit asked.

“I’m down,” Chris said, turning towards Victor. “You want to come?”

“Okay,” Victor replied. Yuri’s heart thumped loudly in his ears. Even though as Tutu he had interacted with Victor fine, as Yuri he was still intimidated by Victor.

As they made their way to the restaurant, Phichit began to start up a conversation with Chris. Yuri walked next to his friend, but he couldn’t help but steal glances at Victor. Yuri knew so many things about Victor now. He still couldn’t believe that this mysterious boy was a prince with no heart. Even though Yuri had restored one of Victor’s heart shards, Victor was not acting any different than usual. He was still quiet and despondent.

Yuri wondered if anyone else knew about Victor having no heart. Probably not. He hadn’t told anyone, and he wasn’t sure that Victor even understood that he had no heart. Yuri smiled. He couldn’t help but feel kind of happy that he knew something about Victor that no one else knew.

“Oh, Yuri,” Chris said, turning his head towards Yuri.

“Y-yes?” Yuri asked.

“I just wanted to congratulate you on your performance during the practice exam,” Chris said smiling. “Your dancing was very beautiful! I’m shocked Ciao Ciao didn’t move you into the special class.”

“Oh I’m not that good!” Yuri replied defensively. “I could never compare to you or Victor.”

“No one could compare to Vitya, he’s practically a dancing robot,” Chris joked, nudging Victor in the side. Victor didn’t say anything, but Yuri wondered if the sudden sadness in Victor’s eyes was real or not.

“Victor works harder than all of us, he’s allowed to be the best,” Phichit teased.

“That’s true,” Chris said. Victor seemed to brighten at this.

Soon the group of four made it to the small café and were seated at a booth near the front window. Phichit started to tell another story as a waiter came to bring them some water. The waiter was young, probably about Victor’s age. He had dark black hair that was styled into a neat coif, he had pale skin and dark blue eyes. Yuri was noting that the waiter seemed to look upset, the skin around his eyes puffy and red, when the pendant around his neck started to glow. Yuri quickly shoved the pendant under his shirt. He glanced at his tablemates, but they were all preoccupied with listening to Phichit who had started telling a story.

“Oh, hey Georgi,” Chris said to the waiter as he set the glasses on the table. “How are you doing?”

“Oh, hey Chris, Victor,” the waiter, Georgi, replied tiredly. “I’ve been better but I’ll be okay.”

“Alright,” Chris said. “Let me know if you need anything, you know me and Vitya are on your side. Even Yurio is probably with you, even if he acts like he hates you.”

Georgi gave a small smile. “Thanks. I’ll, just, let you guys look through the menu, I’ll be back in a moment.” Georgi nodded and then walked back towards the kitchens.

“Who was that?” Phichit asked as they started to peruse the menu.

“That’s Georgi Popovich,” Chris replied. “He’s a student in the theater division of Gold Crown Academy.”

“How’d you meet him?” Phichit asked, eyebrow arched questioningly. It wasn’t impossible to be friends with students in other divisions of the school, but considering the amount of work every division had, people mainly just made friends with people in their own division. It was strange that Chris and Victor seemed to be such good friends with someone outside their division.

“Vitya was friends with him first,” Chris replied. “Vitya just showed up with him one day, acting like they had always known each other. Georgi is a bit dramatic but he has a kind heart. Yurio hated him at first, but I think they’ve slowly become friends.”

“He looked sad,” Yuri noted.

“Yeah,” Chris sighed. “He’s been pretty down lately. He had been dating this girl Anya for a long time, but recently she broke up with him. Georgi is pretty torn up about it.”

“That sucks,” Phichit replied.

Yuri furrowed his brow. It looked like Georgi’s heartbreak had opened his heart to one of Victor’s heart shards. Yuri had to go get it.

“I’m going to the restroom, I’ll be right back,” Yuri said sliding out of the booth. Phichit waved his hand at Yuri in acknowledgement. He rushed back to the kitchens, and as he did the pendant grew brighter and brighter until suddenly, he had transformed into Prince Tutu once again. He slowly opened the door to the kitchen and found Georgi supporting himself against the wall, his head in his hands as he sobbed into his hands.

“Oh Georgi,” Tutu breathed. Georgi lifted his head, his face red, blotchy, and tearstained.

“W-who are you?” Georgi hiccupped.

Tutu pirouetted towards Georgi, and the space around him transformed. The small kitchen seemed to grow in size and cleared away a huge flat floor. The lighting changed, causing the room to glow a light blue, and as Tutu danced, soft green vines began to grow.

“I am Prince Tutu,” Tutu explained, holding out his hand to Georgi. “Please, won’t you come dance with me?”

“I-I’m not a dancer,” Georgi protested.

“It does not matter,” Tutu said. “Everyone can dance in their own way.”

Georgi said nothing, but gently took Tutu’s hand. Tutu slowly spun them around the floor. Georgi’s sadness infected his dancing, as his movements were slow and felt joyless.

“Tell me Georgi, why do you feel so sad?” Tutu asked, bringing Georgi into a slow waltz.

“I just, I feel so alone,” Georgi said, tears springing back to his eyes. He dropped his head onto Tutu’s shoulder. “No matter what I do I can only think of how lonely I feel. I used to find so much joy in acting and helping my family with this restaurant but now all I feel is this aching emptiness that she left me. Anya was the light in my life, she brought me so much joy, but she left and I feel like I should feel angry, but I’m just... alone.”

Tutu petted Georgi’s head gently. “It is normal to feel lonely when someone you love leaves you. However, you must realize you are not really alone. You have family, and many friends who care so much about you. I know this is hard to hear, but there are so many other people in this world, I am certain you will find the one for you. Someone whose love for you will fill up all of the loneliness you feel right now. You mustn’t give up hope for that.”

Georgi smiled and hugged Tutu close to him. “Thank you.” Georgi’s knees buckled under him, and the red glow of one of Victor’s heart shards came once again and the figure of Victor appeared before Tutu.

“You must be the feeling of loneliness,” Tutu said, reaching his hands out to the shard.

“The feeling of loneliness,” the shard echoed.

“This is not where you belong,” Tutu said. “Let me bring you home.” Tutu flitted out of the kitchen and over to the booth where the group had been waiting. To his surprise, Chris and Phichit had fallen asleep, but Victor was still awake. He stared at Tutu as he walked up.

“My prince,” Tutu said with a small bow. “Your feelings belong inside of you.” Tutu gently pressed the shard into Victor’s chest. He smiled, bowed again, and was about to leave when Victor grabbed his wrist.

“Wait,” the prince said. Tutu turned back to Victor. “Thank you, Prince Tutu.”

Tutu smiled and bowed again. “Until we meet again, my prince.” He left, and slowly the restaurant went back to normal, and Chris and Phichit woke up as though nothing had happened.

Yuri came back and slid into the booth. Soon, Georgi came to take their orders, looking slightly more chipper than earlier. Yuri knew it would take time for Georgi’s heart to heal completely, but hopefully he knew that he had friends behind him every step of the way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so ends chapter 3! As always, if you want to talk to me about yoi or princess tutu or anything, feel free to leave a comment or message me on my [ tumblr](http://cowlover2.tumblr.com)!
> 
> Sidenote, this fic is not beta'd, so if you find any mistakes or if something doesn't make sense, let me know!


	4. Giselle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chris injures himself while practicing for a recital. Meanwhile, Victor keeps hearing a strange voice call out to him. Could it possibly be a heart shard, or something more malicious?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's Chapter 4! Thank you to everyone for the kudos and comments. They really make my day and encourage me to keep going. I'm glad people are enjoying this story.  
> This chapter came out really long, I hope you like it!

_Once upon a time, there was a sad love that was never to be requited._

_But, that alone does not give birth to a story. The man charged with the task of spinning this tale of love, was no longer of this world. The story lives on with the love forever immersed in sorrow. Having lost its storyteller, the story now wanders in search of its conclusion._

_…_

Yuri stood at the front of the room, waiting for Victor to get ready. However, that morning Victor kept spacing out and Yuri had to keep yelling at Victor to keep moving.

“Victor, if you make us late, I swear I will end you,” Yuri threatened.

Victor turned from where he had been gazing out the window. “Oh, sorry Yurio,” he replied, finishing tying up his hair in a ponytail.

“God, why are you so spacey today,” Yurio said, angrily shoving Victor’s practice clothes into a bag to speed Victor along. “It’s annoying. Get your head out of your ass.”

“Someone keeps calling to me,” Victor explained, his gaze turning to the window again. “They seem lonely.”

Yuri stiffened. “What the hell do you know about being lonely?”

“I just feel it,” Victor replied, slipping on his shoes and taking his bag from Yuri. 

Before Victor could walk away towards the door, Yuri grabbed his wrist. “Victor… do you have feelings? Have you regained some of your heart?” Victor looked at Yurio and nodded.

“ _This is bad_ ,” Yuri thought to himself. “ _There could be trouble if Victor regains more of his heart.”_

 “Do those feelings feel good to you Victor?” Yuri asked. “Do you like the emotions you have now?”

Victor shook his head. “ I want to restore my heart, but it’s hard having these feelings. It's confusing.”

“Exactly,” Yuri replied. “You don’t need a heart, you’re fine the way you are. Don’t get hope to regain all of your heart, it’s stupid.”

Yuri let go of Victor’s arm as the older boy just stared at him. “Come on, we’re going to be late.” Victor nodded slowly, then followed Yuri out of the room to go to class.

…

Yuri stood on the tips of his toes as he watched the special class’s practice below him. The special class was using the main practice room to prepare for a recital they had coming up, so Ciao Ciao had given the beginners class the morning off so all his attention could be on the special class. Normally Yuri would be taking this opportunity to practice in a different room, however Ciao Ciao had invited him to observe the special class, and Yuri would never give up an opportunity to watch the special class, especially Victor. So, he stood on a balcony overlooking the practice room and tried his best not to be a distraction, although he shot silly faces at Phichit every time his friend looked up at him.

Something was off with Victor today. It was as if Victor was having trouble focusing. He gazed out the window as he warmed up at the barre. Ciao Ciao kept having to call out to Victor to pay attention. His dancing was still fine, but it seemed weighed down, it did not contain the airiness that Victor’s dancing usually had. Yuri hoped it wasn’t his fault. He knew it must be the emotions stirring within Victor that was making him act this way, but he would hate to get Victor kicked out of the special class. He knew that Victor wanted to get his heart back, but Yuri hated seeing Victor suffer because of it.

Currently, Victor was sitting and staring out the window while Chris was practicing a solo for the recital. Yuri admired Chris’s dancing. He was extremely talented, and his style was very mature. He oozed confidence, unlike Yuri.

Chris’s solo was extremely challenging. It required a lot of stamina, and Yuri knew it would even be difficult for him, and he had a greater amount of stamina than the average person. Chris almost made it look effortless, however, Yuri could slightly see Chris’s legs starting to shake a bit from the stress.

As Chris moved to the next part of his solo, his ankle suddenly gave way and he fell to the ground with a cry. Yuri couldn’t do anything except worriedly lean over the railing of the balcony to try and hear what was going on better.

“Christophe are you alright?” Ciao Ciao hurriedly asked, rushing over to Chris. Victor also stood up and hurried over to his friend.

“I think I’m okay,” Chris said, wincing a bit as Ciao Ciao rolled up his pant leg to look at Chris’s ankle. “I think I just overworked myself.”

“I told you I could lessen the difficulty of the piece if you couldn’t handle it,” Ciao Ciao said sternly.

“I can do this, I’m sure of it,” Chris argued.

“Hm,” Ciao Ciao mused. “Well it doesn’t look like there’s any damage to your ankle, but I still want you to go to the nurse to have it looked at. Victor, can you go with him?” Victor nodded and helped his friend off the ground. It looked like Chris could walk, but he was limping a tad. Yuri hoped he would be alright

…

“Sorry for taking you away from practice Vitya,” Chris said, balancing on Victor’s shoulder.

“It’s okay,” Victor replied. “Are you alright?”

“I’ll survive,” Chris said, smiling at his friend. “More importantly, are you okay? You’ve been acting weird all morning.”

“I don’t know,” Victor said. “Yurio said I shouldn’t worry about how I’m feeling but-"

“Wait, feeling?” Chris interrupted. “Like, emotions?”

“Yes,” Victor replied. “I just feel like someone keeps calling out to me. Like someone wants to talk to me. They’re lonely. It’s making me feel lonely too.”

Chris furrowed his brow and opened his mouth to reply to Victor, but was interrupted by a loud yell.

“HEY CHRIS!”

The two turned and saw Yurio angrily stomping towards them. When he caught up, he grabbed Victor by the arm.

“Victor, go back to our room,” Yurio snapped.

“I’m supposed to help Chris-" Victor started before being interrupted again.

“I’ll take him, just go back,” Yurio ordered.

Victor shrugged. “Okay. See you later Chris.” Victor transferred Chris over to Yurio and then slowly began to walk back towards the dorm.

“Why so angry little kitten?” Chris asked, smirking as they began to shuffle awkwardly to the nurse’s office. Yurio was quite a bit shorter than Chris so it was harder for Chris to totally lean on the smaller boy.

“Shut up,” Yurio snapped. “You better not be the one helping him regain all his weird feelings.”

“Oh no, it’s not me,” Chris replied. “Maybe it’s Prince Tutu from the fairy tale. Maybe he appeared to restore Victor’s heart.”

“Don’t be stupid,” Yurio said. “Like that could even happen.”

“Anything is possible,” Chris replied.

“You should stay away from Victor from now on,” Yurio said as they finally made it to the nurse’s office. He let go of Chris. “You’ll just encourage this nonsense.”

Chris smiled at Yurio, but you could almost see the malice in his eyes. “Don’t think that you can tell me what to do Yurio. I’m not a puppet, like you keep trying to make Victor into. I’ll do as I please.” Before Yurio could reply, Chris limped into the nurse’s office and shut the door in Yurio’s face. Yurio huffed and stomped away to go back and meet Victor in their room.

…

Practice did not last very long after Chris and Victor left, so Yuri walked back to the dorm with Phichit and then set to work on some homework. He was sitting on his window seat reading a textbook when he saw movement outside. He looked up and saw Victor was standing at the entrance to the dorm.

“ _I wonder if Chris is okay?”_ Yuri wondered, closing his textbook. It would be okay to go ask Victor right? That wouldn’t be weird? It’s not like Chris and him were very good friends, but it was alright to be concerned, right? Yuri sighed and stood up.

“Stop being weird Yuri,” Yuri muttered to himself. He took a deep breath, then ran out of his room to go talk to Victor.

When Yuri made it outside, he was surprised to see Victor was still in the same spot he was in earlier. He had not moved and it looked like he was talking to someone, but Victor was alone.

“ _That’s odd,_ ” Yuri thought to himself. He was going to call out to Victor, when suddenly a strong wind picked up, almost pushing Yuri over. Yuri moved to cover his face and the wind stopped almost as suddenly as it had started. Yuri looked up and saw that Victor had vanished. Yuri ran up to the dorm entrance and looked around, but Victor was nowhere to be seen.

“Where’d he go?” Yuri mumbled. He had seen Victor, right?

“Hey, Yuri!”

Yuri turned around and saw Chris walking towards him. “Oh, hey Chris! Is your ankle okay?”

“Yeah, I’m all good. Feels better after it was iced for a while,” Chris replied. “Nurse says I can’t practice for a couple of days but I should be able to start dancing again in no time.”

“Thank goodness,” Yuri replied.

“What are you doing out here?” Chris asked.

“Oh, um, I,” Yuri replied looking down the street again. “Well I saw Victor out here, so I came to ask him if you were okay, but I don’t know where he went.”

“He didn’t come this way,” Chris said. “I didn’t see him.”

“Weird,” Yuri replied. “Victor was acting strange, he was just standing out here talking to himself.”

“That is strange,” Chris replied, scratching his chin in thought. “He told me earlier that he felt like someone was calling out to him. Maybe he went to look for them.”

“ _Someone was calling out to him_?” Yuri thought. That was strange. Unless heart shards could suddenly call out to Victor now. That would make finding them more convenient. Yuri was pretty sure that wasn’t the case though.

“I-I’m going to go look for him,” Yuri replied. “It sounds like Victor could be in trouble.”

“I’ll come with you,” Chris said. “Four eyes are better than two.”

“O-okay,” Yuri said. Together, the two began to walk the cobbled streets of Gold Crown Town in search of the missing prince. The town was very quiet at this time of day. The buildings were mottled with shadows as the sun sunk lower in the sky, and the streets were fairly empty, leaving a comfortable silence hanging over the place. The two walked in the direction of the river that flowed through the town and then followed the bank for a while, keeping an eye out for Victor.

“So,” Yuri said, trying to start up a conversation as they walked together. “Have you been friends with Victor for a long time?”

“Ever since he came to Gold Crown Academy,” Chris replied. “It was kind of hard to talk to him at first because Yurio was constantly stopping people from talking to him, but once I got to know Victor we just sort of became friends. I feel like deep down me and Victor are a lot alike. Victor doesn’t really talk much but it still seems like he has a lot to say.”

“Hm,” Yuri mused. “I only got the courage to start talking to him a little while ago. Even so, I’ve barely said anything to him. He’s kind of intimidating.”

“He’s not so bad,” Chris said. “He just seems scary because he doesn’t talk a lot and he’s scary good at dancing. I’m sure he’d love to have you as a friend. I enjoy having you as a friend.”

“We’re friends?” Yuri questioned in surprise. Sure they had hung out a couple of times but Yuri had no idea Chris considered them friends.

“Sure, why not?” Chris said, smiling a dazzling smile. “We’ve hung out a few times, and now we’re out walking together, why shouldn’t we be friends?”

Yuri smiled. He had never thought Chris would ever consider him a friend. It seemed a little surreal.

All of a sudden, Chris abruptly stopped in his tracks. Yuri looked up at him.

“What’s wrong?” Yuri asked, and Chris pointed towards a bridge that was in front of them. Crossing the bridge was a large group of people. Some were carrying lanterns, and in the lamp light Yuri could see they all had their heads bowed. After a few moments, the wind carried the sound of crying into Yuri’s ears.

“Looks like a funeral,” Chris said somberly.

“I wonder who for?” Yuri replied. “They must have been very loved to have such a large group of people at their funeral.”

“Wait, look!” Chris exclaimed. Yuri looked back at the bridge and the two could see a glint of silver crossing over the bridge with the funeral procession.

“Victor!” Yuri yelled, and the two rushed over to the bridge. However, when they finally made it, the group was gone and the only thing across the bridge was a brick wall that surrounded the town.

“Where could they have gone, they were right there!” Chris said in frustration.

“Something weird is going on,” Yuri mused, more to himself than to Chris. As the two stood next to the bridge in confusion, a soft melody floated through the air, and Yuri looked over to see Minako coming towards them, pushing her cart.

“Miss Minako!” Yuri cried, running over to the woman, Chris following close behind.

“Good evening Yuri. Good evening Chris,” Minako said, stopping her melody and causing a silence to fall over the group.

“Yuri, who is this?” Chris asked suspiciously. “Why does she know who I am?”

“Oh, this is Miss Minako,” Yuri replied, gesturing to Minako. “She’s a friend of mine. I’m pretty sure she knows everything.”

“How is it possible to know everything?” Chris asked, then sighing said “Whatever, if she can help us find Victor then great.”

“Miss Minako, we were out looking for Victor, and we saw him, but then he just disappeared into this dead end. Do you have any idea how we could find him?” Yuri asked.

“Hmmm,” Minako said, leaning on her cart. “A story is running wild within this story. There was once a beautiful girl who was in love with a nobleman. However, she herself was just a common girl, and so she could not marry the man she loved.”

“How is this story answering your question at all?” Chris asked in a hushed tone.

Yuri shushed him and turned back to Minako. “So, what happened to the girl?”

“Because she couldn’t be with the one she loved, she took her own life,” Minako replied. “If she couldn’t have the love she desired in this life, she would be reborn and claim it in the next. However, the man she loved never came to her, so she took another man’s soul with her to the land of the dead.”

“How sad,” Yuri replied.

“In this town, this same story has occurred,” Minako continued. “A girl fell in love, lost her love, and took her own life. Now the two stories are becoming one, and are becoming a reality.”

“Wait,” Yuri said. “Does that mean… Victor will be taken away? To the land of the dead?”

“I won’t let that happen!” Chris exclaimed.

“The story has already started,” Minako said, pointing towards the wall on the other side of the river. The two boys gasped when they saw what was once a dead end was now an archway, leading the way to what must have once been a grand mansion. It had a large courtyard with a fountain in front, and it had at least three stories. But the mansion had fallen into disrepair. The courtyard was overgrown with tall weeds and the fountain was cracked and dry. The brick on the mansion had crumbled in places, and most of the mansion was covered in thick vines.

“The girl’s soul has taken up residence in the courtyard of the mansion,” Minako explained. “You’ll find Victor there.”

“Let’s go Yuri!” Chris said, running over the bridge.

“Thank you Miss Minako!” Yuri yelled over his shoulder, running after Chris. Minako waved lazily after the boys, and then began to push her cart away.

Yuri caught up to Chris who had stopped outside of the mansion. Yuri looked and he could see Victor standing in front of the mansion, talking to someone.

“Are you sure I’m who you’re looking for?” Victor said softly. “If you say I am then it must be true.”

“Vitya, who are you talking to?” Chris yelled. He moved to run closer to Victor, but suddenly Victor was surrounded by spirits. They looked like ballerinas, each spirit draped in beautiful white dresses with their hair tied up in a tight knot. There was one main dancer, and she was dressed in a long sleeved white flowing gown, and a sheer veil covered her face. A crown of pale white roses was attatched to the veil. The main dancer curtsied to Victor and then began to dance for him. The dance was laden with sadness.

“This must be the ghost of the girl who died,” Yuri said softly. The pendant around his neck softly began to glow, and Yuri reached up and covered it with his hand.

“ _The spirit must have one of Victor’s heart shards_ ,” Yuri thought.

“So you were the one calling to me,” Victor said, slowly walking towards the spirit. She danced over to Victor, and then held out her hands where a sprig of rosemary was resting.

“That’s the rosemary from _Giselle_!” Chris cried. “No, Vitya, don’t take it!” Chris ran over and stood in front of Victor, blocking him from the spirit. “She’ll take you away to the land of the dead!” The spirit backed up angrily and began to dance, challenging Chris. Chris also began to dance, but Yuri could tell that Chris’s ankle was still weak, especially since they had been walking for so long.

“Chris no!” Yuri yelled. This had become a battle of stamina, and Yuri knew that the winner would determine whether Victor lived or died. Yuri wasn’t sure Chris could win though.

Chris and the spirit danced against each other. Chris managed to keep up for a while, but soon his legs were shaking from exertion. Then, Chris’s ankle gave out again and he fell to the ground. The spirit smirked and then turned back to Victor, holding the rosemary out to him once more.

“Vitya no!” Chris cried out, trying to get up again, but unable to because of his ankle.

Yuri swallowed hard. He knew he had to do something, or Victor would be lost forever. Running behind a tree in the messy courtyard of the mansion, Yuri quickly transformed into Prince Tutu, and leaped out to block Victor from the spirit once again.

“My prince, stop, you mustn’t take it!” Tutu exclaimed. Behind him, Chris looked up at Tutu in awe. There was no way. Tutu was just a fairy tale. But here he was, standing in front of Chris like a beacon of light.

The spirit scowled at Tutu. “Why? Why must you interfere? Who are you?”

“I am Prince Tutu,” Tutu explained, beckoning to the spirit. “Please, come and dance with me.” Slowly, the spirit took Tutu’s hand, and the two began to dance, spinning throughout the courtyard. Chris could only watch in wonder as the rest of the spirits danced around them.

“ _How is it possible to have that much stamina_?” Chris pondered as the two continued to dance. Tutu kept up with every step the spirit took, never seeming to tire. It was inhuman!

“I know that your heart is laden with sorrow because you cannot be with the one you love,” Tutu said while dancing. “But you mustn’t give into the sorrow. Even if you take Victor with you, the sorrow in your heart won’t leave. Because this sorrow is not what you truly feel, is it?”

The spirit wept and fell to her knees in front of Tutu. Tutu knelt down and took the spirit’s hands in his. “I do not know how much or how long you have suffered, but I know that you have grieved enough. You don’t have to grieve anymore, you may rest in peace.”

The spirit smiled up at Tutu through her tears. “Thank you, so much.” Slowly the spirits inhabiting the courtyard faded away. The spirit in front of Yuri faded away, leaving nothing but a glowing red figure of Victor, who stood up in front of Tutu. The figure smiled and then shrunk into a shard, resting in Tutu’s hand. Yuri smiled and flitted over to Victor.

“My prince, this is the shard of your heart called sorrow,” Tutu explained. “Unfortunately, it makes people suffer. However, I still believe it is an important emotion to have.” Victor nodded, and Tutu gently pressed the shard into Victor’s chest. Bowing, Tutu quickly ran away so that Chris would not see him when he transformed back.

Victor collapsed onto his knees and Chris made his way over to Victor as fast as he could, limping on his weak ankle. When he made it to Victor, the boys shoulders were shaking, and teardrops sparkling like diamonds were falling from his eyes.

“Oh Vitya,” Chris said, kneeling next to his friend and taking him in his arms. As Victor cried in Chris’s arms, Chris looked in the direction Tutu had disappeared to. Loneliness and sorrow and who knows what else. These were the emotions Tutu was bringing to Victor. He wasn’t sure if he could trust Tutu yet, especially, if he was only bringing Victor pain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so ends chapter 4! It had alot happening so I hope it was still okay. Yeah, I know, Victor got another crummy emotion, but I promise he'll get a happy emotion next chapter so stay tuned for that! Also, something new about Tutu will be revealed next chapter so look forwards to that too!
> 
> This fic is not beta'd, so if you find any mistakes please let me know.
> 
> As always, if you want to talk to me about yoi or princess tutu or anything, feel free to leave a comment or message me on my [ tumblr](http://cowlover2.tumblr.com)!


	5. On the Eve of the Fire Festival

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yuri learns something about Princess Tutu while the town prepares for their annual Fire Festival.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's Chapter 5!
> 
> I have been having alot of fun with this fic! While I've been working on this chapter, I've also made some art for the fic. Here ([ link](http://cowlover2.tumblr.com/post/165235122189/are-you-tired-of-my-princess-tutu-au-yet-lol)) is a drawing of our main cast so far and here ([ link](http://cowlover2.tumblr.com/post/165122124349/so-as-yall-know-ive-been-working-on-a-yuri-on) is just some art I drew of Yuri and Tutu (this picture is also posted at the bottom of chapter 1)
> 
> I love this fic to pieces so I hope you're enjoying it too!

_Once upon a time, many years ago, there was a happy prince._

_He recalled no painful past, and knew no painful future. One day, the prince obtained a comforting warmth. The source of this warmth however, emanated not only tranquility, but also unhappiness, pain, and loneliness._

_…_

“Ugh, I can’t believe Ciao Ciao is making us clean the practice rooms _today_ ,” Phichit complained, leaning on the mop in his hands. “Of all the days, he could have picked.”

“Phichit, the Fire Festival hasn’t even started yet,” Yuri countered as he wiped the windows of the practice room. “You’re not even missing anything.”

“Still, I have to practice my dance I’m performing,” Phichit whined.

“Phichit, you could do your dance in your sleep,” Yuri replied. “You just don’t want to clean.”

Phichit sighed. “You’re no fun Yuri.”

The Fire Festival was a huge event that took place every year in Gold Crown Town. Everyone in the town attended, dressing in costumes and dancing the night away around a huge bonfire. There was also a ton of food carts and even some games to play. That year, Ciao Ciao had choreographed a dance for the special class to perform for the town, and the dance was literally all Phichit had been talking about.

Yuri sighed and went over to pick up Phichit’s mop bucket. “I’m going to go fill this up so we can finish mopping the floor. _However_ , if I came back and you had disappeared for some reason, I wouldn’t tell Ciao Ciao about it.”

“Really!” Phichit squealed. He hugged his friend tightly. “Yuri, you’re the best, I love you!”

“Yeah yeah, but you owe me one,” Yuri said, peeling himself away from his friend. He then walked out of the room with his bucket, sighing to himself. “ _Why are you so nice Yuri, now you’re probably going to be late to the Fire Festival._ ”

Yuri walked outside to where a pour spigot was so he could fill up his bucket, but as he got closer he could hear voices talking around the corner where the faucet was.

“We need to talk Giacometti.”

“Why, what’s going on?”

“ _Chris and Yurio_?” Yuri wondered, pressing himself against the wall. He knew he shouldn’t eavesdrop, but Chris and Yurio’s dislike of each other was well known within all of the classes. Even thought they were both friends with Victor, they themselves didn’t get along. It was weird that they were talking at all.

“It’s Victor,” Yurio said. “He’s a mess! Evidently, he got another heart shard and he’s been acting weird ever since. He keeps complaining about being lonely and he’s been trailing after me like a hurt puppy. It’s driving me nuts!”

“ _Yurio knows about the heart shards too?_ ” Yuri wondered. He had figured Chris knew about them but he didn’t know that Yurio knew about them too.

“Do you think I have something to do with Vitya regaining his heart?” Chris asked. “Because I already told you that it’s not me giving him his heart back.”

“Do you have any idea who it is?” Yurio asked, frustrated.

“If I told you, you wouldn’t believe me,” Chris replied. It sounded like he was trying to frustrate Yurio even more, but Yuri figured that was just their relationship.

“Just tell me idiot!” Yurio growled.

“Alright, don’t get your whiskers in a knot,” Chris teased. “It’s Prince Tutu.”

“What?” Yurio yelled. “Do you expect me to believe that crap? Tutu is just a character from a story, nothing more.”

“He’s real,” Chris protested. “I saw him a few days ago. He gave Victor the heart shard for sadness and then just disappeared.”

“What?” Yurio shouted.

“It seems as though Prince Tutu has given him several shards, I’m not sure how many,” Chris continued.

“Son of a-" Yuri grumbled. “This is bad, if Victor gains more of his heart shards-"

“It’s not as if Tutu can cause any more trouble than giving Victor back his heart,” Chris interrupted. “He’s a tragic character remember? If he ever confesses his love to the prince, he’ll turn into a speck of light and vanish.”

"It would make my life easier if he just disappeared," Yurio grumbled.

Yuri covered his mouth to stifle the sudden cry that wanted to tear its way out of his throat. Was that true? Was Tutu really a tragic character? Yuri shuffled backward and hid in a small alcove in the wall, sinking to the ground. It wasn’t like Yuri had ever thought Victor would ever want someone like him. He had never thought about confessing his love or anything. Yuri wasn’t really sure how he felt about Victor. He admired Victor, loved the way he danced. Yuri wanted to see Victor happy more than anything. He didn’t know if his feelings translated to love though. It hurt to know that even if his feelings developed more for Victor, he couldn’t even tell Victor if he wanted to. Besides, even if he wanted to confess, there was no way Victor could ever love a piglet like Yuri.

Yuri sat for a while until he heard the voices of Yurio and Chris fade away, and then he sighed and stood back up. In reality, nothing had changed. He was still just a nobody and Victor was still a prince. Yuri filled up his bucket and went back to the practice room, mopping the floor and stewing in his thoughts. When he finished cleaning that practice room, he moved on to the last once.

“ _It doesn’t even matter Yuri,_ ” Yuri thought to himself as he pushed down the door handle. “ _Victor would never like you anyways._ ”

As Yuri stepped into the room, he looked up and dropped his mop bucket in surprise. Standing in the back of the practice room, staring out the window, was the one person who had been swirling through Yuri’s thoughts.

“V-victor,” Yuri stuttered. Victor slowly turned towards Yuri, his blue eyes filled with lonliness. Dressed in his costume for the fire festival, Victor looked the very picture of the prince that he was. His long silver hair flowed down his back and was crowned by blue roses. He wore a dark purple tunic with golden accents that made him look very regal. He commanded attention.

“Ah, I’m sorry!” Yuri sputtered as water began to pool around his shoes. “Am I interrupting your practice? Ciao Ciao wanted us to clean the rooms but if you need the room, I can just come back later. Although, I guess I just made a mess, but, um, I’ll just, come back later.” Yuri said, abruptly turning and placing his hand on the door handle.

“Wait.”

Yuri froze at the sound of the soft voice from behind him, turning his head to look over his shoulder. Victor had taken a few steps closer to Yuri, and had his arm outstretched towards him. Yuri turned around slowly to face Victor.

“Have you seen Chris anywhere?” Victor asked, his hand falling to his side. “He said to meet him here to practice dancing for the Fire Festival, but he hasn’t shown up yet.”

“Oh, um, no,” Yuri replied. He wasn’t really lying, he hadn’t actually _seen_ Chris earlier. Besides, he didn’t know where Chris was at the moment so he doubted he’d be helpful.

“Oh,” Victor replied softly. Victor looked so sad. Yuri wanted to reach out for him to make things okay, but honestly there probably was not much he could do. Victor just didn’t have the capacity to feel happiness yet.

“Is everything okay?” Yuri asked.

Victor shook his head. “When I’m alone… the world feels dark and cold. Like every bit of light is being snuffed out around me.” Victor hugged his arms around himself. “I, I don’t know how to describe what I’m feeling. I don’t like it.”

Yuri didn’t know how to respond. It was his fault Victor was feeling this way. Yuri hadn’t found a heart shard with a good emotion in it yet, so Victor must be confused by all of the emotions he had. Yuri wished he could help somehow.

“Would you dance with me Yuri?” Victor asked suddenly.

“What‽” Yuri yelled. “I, uh, I don’t know, I’m not a very good dancer, so I don’t think I’d be helpful for your practice-" Yuri stopped as Victor grabbed his hand and pulled him in close, causing Yuri to drop his mop. Yuri could feel his face turning red as he stood this close to Victor. He had never been this close to Victor. Victor smelled good, like flowers. His hands were soft and warm. Yuri felt… safe next to Victor.

“Please dance with me,” Victor asked again, softly.

Yuri quickly nodded his head. “O-okay.”

Dancing with Victor was unlike anything Yuri had ever experienced. Victor was so soft and fluid in his dancing, Yuri felt as if he were floating on air. Yuri never felt lost in the dance, Victor was the perfect lead. He met Yuri every step of the way, and Yuri honestly felt like dancing had never been that fun. They spun together around the room and at the end of the dance, Victor gently lifted Yuri into the air. Yuri laughed and looked down, and saw the smallest of smiles on Victor’s face. Victor put Yuri down and Yuri stepped away a bit.

“That was really fun!” Yuri breathed. “Thank you.”

“You are a good dancer Yuri.” Victor said, causing Yuri’s face to turn bright red again.

“T-thank you,” Yuri stuttered. “I’m not that good though, it was all thanks to your lead.” Victor gave a small frown but didn’t reply.

“Um, I have to finish cleaning the room,” Yuri said. “So, I’m going to get some more water. If I see Chris I’ll tell him you’re waiting.”

“Okay,” Victor replied softly. “Thank you.”

Yuri smiled and stepped out of the room. He had never dreamed he would ever get to dance with Victor. He couldn’t wipe the grin off of his face as he walked back to the outdoors faucet.

“ _I can’t believe Victor wanted to dance with me,_ ” Yuri thought to himself. Yuri was feeling a bit better after seeing Victor. So what if Yuri could never ‘confess’ to Victor? He could still be friends with him. He could still try and make Victor happy. Still smiling, Yuri made his way back to the practice room, but he heard angry shouting coming from the room. Yuri stood outside the door, knowing that eavesdropping was wrong and that he had already listened in on one conversation today, but when he heard it was Yurio inside the room he got too curious.

“Where have you been?” Yurio yelled at Victor.

“Chris wanted to practice for the festival, so I was waiting here,” Victor answered softly.

“You were supposed to be practicing with the rest of the class first idiot!” Yurio replied. “Stop listening to Chris so much! How could you not figure out that Chris wasn’t coming after being here a few minutes?”

“Sorry,” Victor replied.

“And why is the floor so wet?” Yurio yelled. Yuri gulped outside the door. Oops.

“Yuri came in here to clean,” Victor explained. “I danced with him, and he dropped some water he was carrying.”

“You _danced_ with him?” Yurio asked, exasperated. “Why the hell would you do that? Victor you don’t have to dance with everyone who asks you.”

“It wasn’t like that,” Victor protested. “I was alone, and Chris hadn’t come yet, but then Yuri came, so I just danced with him.”

“Why would you want to do a stupid thing like that?” Yuri snapped. “Stop wasting your time on stupid things and just do what I tell you! Now go back to the dorm.”

“But Chris said he was coming,” Victor said.

“Forget about Chris okay!” Yurio yelled.

“I have to tell him I can’t practice with him,” Victor explained.

“Idiot, come with me!” Yurio snapped. Yuri yelped and ran around the corner to a hallway, and peeking around he could see the door slam open and Yurio dragging Victor out of the practice room.

“Where are we going Yurio?” Victor asked.

“It doesn’t matter, just come on!” Yurio said, pulling Victor along. Soon the two walked down the hall and disappeared outside, leaving the hallway in silence. Yuri rushed over to one of the windows in the hallway and saw Yurio dragging Victor in the direction of the library.

“ _I wonder why he’s taking Victor to the library?_ ” Yuri thought.

“Yuri!”

Yuri quickly snapped his head around and saw Chris waving to him at the other end of the hall. Chris was also in his costume for the fire festival, a bright red rose flower crown atop his heat, a dark crimson tunic with white accents, and white tights and ballet shoes. It matched Victor’s almost.

“Oh hi Chris,” Yuri replied, waving back. “Victor was looking for you.”

“Oh?” Chris asked, stopping in front of Yuri.

“Yeah, I was cleaning the practice rooms,” Yuri explained, gesturing to the bucket of water in his hand. “He was there, he said he was waiting for you.”

“Yeah, I’ll have to apologize to him,” Chris said, frustrated. “Ciao Ciao kept us in practice longer than I thought he would, and then I had to go back to change into my costume for the festival.”

“Oh,” Yuri said. “Anyways, he’s not in the room now, I’m not sure where he went.” Yuri didn’t like lying to Chris, but he also didn’t want to start unnecessary drama between Chris and Yurio.

“What, you didn’t go looking for him like you did the other day?” Chris teased. “Honestly, we spend all that time together and then you just leave me, Yuri I am hurt.”

“Sorry Chris,” Yuri said, but didn’t explain himself. He wasn't really sure he wanted to get into the fact that he was actually a piglet who moonlighted as a magical ballet dancer.

“Hm, well, if you see Victor, tell him I went ahead to the square where the festival is being held, okay?” Yuri nodded, and Chris walked away. Yuri placed his bucket on the ground and then ran out of the building. He had to find out what Yurio was doing.

He crashed through the door of the library, which was unsurprisingly empty due to the Fire Festival later that day. Yuri rushed through the library looking everywhere for Victor and Yuri when he finally heard soft voices coming from the storage rooms in the back of the library. Yuri rushed over and saw Yurio coming out of one of the rooms.

“Stay in here, I’ll come back for you later,” Yurio said, moving to close the door.

“No, Yurio, I’m sorry, please don’t leave,” Victor said, his normally apathetic voice sounding strained and fearful. Yurio ignored him and shut the door in his face.

“W-what are you doing‽” Yuri cried, running over to the where Yurio had just locked Victor.

“What the hell? What are you doing here?” Yurio yelled. Yuri ignored him and jiggled the door handle, but it was locked tight.

“Let him out of there, what is wrong with you?” Yuri asked. “Victor isn’t your pet, you can’t just do what you want with him!”

“It’s none of your business!” Yurio snarled. “What do you even know about Victor?”

“I know that he doesn’t like to be alone,” Yuri said. “I know that he loves dancing, and that he loves his friends more than anything. But you’re not acting like his friend right now!”

“You don’t know anything!” Yurio countered. “Now go away!” He shoved Yuri out of the way and stomped out of the library.

Yuri turned to the door. “Victor! I’ll get you out of there, I promise!” Victor didn’t reply to him.

“ _Poor Victor, he must be so upset,_ ” Yuri thought. “ _How am I going to get you out of there_?” Then, Yuri heard a soft melody playing outside of the library.

“ _Miss Minako?”_ Yuri questioned. “ _Oh, maybe she’ll be able to help me rescue Victor!”_ Yuri rushed out of the library and saw Minako standing outside playing music through her cart.

“Miss Minako!” Yuri exclaimed, running over to her.

“I see you are trapped in the darkness of uncertainty,” Minako said as Yuri ran up to her. “If you wish to shine for someone, you mustn’t fear the darkness.”

“Um,” Yuri had to think for a moment before he understood what Minako meant. “Oh, do you mean that I shouldn’t fear what I can’t understand?”

Minako smiled. “Correct.” She stopped playing her music and pointed back at the library. Yuri looked and saw that she was pointing at a small door in the side of the library. “You’ll be able to find Victor if you go through there. Good luck.”

“Oh, thank you Miss Minako!” He said, waving at her and then running towards the library. He had to get Victor out before the darkness swallowed him.

When Yuri opened the door, he found himself in the basement of the library. The basement was constructed out of stone, with stone pillars holding up a stone ceiling. Soft lanterns hung on the walls every few feet casting the stone floors with shadows. Yuri could hear the sound of water dripping somewhere. He never would have imagined that the bottom of the library would look like this. As soon as he stepped into the library underground, the pendant around his neck began to softly glow.

“ _A heart shard? Here?”_ Yuri thought to himself. Using the pendant, he began to walk through the underground, following where the pendant seemed to glow brighter. If he could find the heart shard, he was sure he would find Victor.

As Yuri walked further into the basement, a soft voice suddenly called out to him.

“I am a small thing that floods an entire room. What am I?”

“ _A riddle?”_ Yuri thought to himself. He furrowed his brow in thought. He wasn’t really good at solving riddles. After thinking for a moment, he replied “Um, a sneeze?”

“Too bad,” The voice replied, laughing to itself. Yuri began to run in the direction of the voice. Victor could be with the voice’s owner. As he climbed up a staircase, the voice spoke again.

“I am a white snake that swallows the sea. What am I?”

“Um,” Yuri thought as he continued to run. He made it to the top of the stairs and started to run down the stone hallway, following the voice. “A white paintbrush with red paint on it?”

“Too bad,” the voice echoed back. “Here’s the last one. I become shorter the longer I stand. What am I?”

Yuri peered into a room that was in the hallway he was in. It was too dark to see anything, but he entered anyway.

“Um, are you a flower, maybe?” Yuri guessed, slowly inching his way into the room with his hands in front of him.

“Too bad. But congratulations! The person you are looking for is in this room.”

“Victor‽” Yuri called out. “Show me where his is, let me take him home!”

“No.” The voice was suddenly stern. There was a loud rumbling noise and suddenly the way Yuri had come into the room was blocked off.

“You’ll also stay here with me,” the voice said.

“I can’t stay here!” Yuri cried out. “Please, who are you?”

“Don’t worry, you’ll be fine here with me,” the voice replied.

Suddenly, Yuri’s pendant began to glow even brighter, and Yuri felt warm as he transformed into Prince Tutu.

As Tutu stepped into the room, a soft glow came from the other end of the room. Gentle lights appeared all around Tutu.

“Who are you?” the voice asked in awe.

“I am Prince Tutu,” Tutu replied with a bow.

“You’re wonderful,” the voice said. “Please stay and dance for me. I’ll illuminate you for the rest of your life.”

“Illuminate me?” Tutu murmered. His eyes widened as he suddenly understood. “So that’s it! The little thing that floods an entire room is the light of a lamp. And the white snake with a red head that swallows the sea and becomes shorter the longer it stands is the lamp’s wick. You must be a lamp!”

“You are correct,” the voice replied. All of the glowing lights that surrounded Tutu floated away and morphed into one, revealing the translucent figure of a small boy. The boy had short messy hair and was dressed in a simple tunic with tights. He didn’t look very old.

Tutu beckoned to the boy. “Please, come dance with me.”

The boy shook his head and suddenly disappeared. Then, a glowing spotlight appeared around Tutu. “No, you dance. I’ll illuminate your steps.”

Tutu smiled, and then began to slowly dance under the lamplight. He wanted to convey the softness of the lamp. He wanted to show the glow that the lamp produced.

“Your light is so warm and gentle,” Tutu said as he danced. “Why are you doing this?”

“My only wish is to keep on shining for someone,” the lamp replied. “I want to envelope them in my warm light. That was all I ever wanted, but somewhere along the way, I was not needed anymore, and I was forgotten. The people who once basked in my light left me. They must not have needed me from the beginning. I thought they enjoyed my presence, but that was only what I believed.”

“That isn’t true,” Tutu reassured. “I am sure of it.”

“Right now though, there is someone who wants my light,” the lamp said. Across the room, the lamp lighted an area and Tutu looked to see Victor, asleep on a bench, his body curled around a small oil lamp.

“My prince,” Tutu whispered. Louder he asked “Is that what you really want, to shut us away? Please, remember what it was like to shine your light on the people you love.”

The small boy appeared in front of Tutu again. “I have not forgotten.”

“Then you should know that forcing your light on others will not bring joy to anyone,” Tutu said. “I love the soft glow of your light, and I’m sure that the people you shined upon were happy to have your warm glow.” Tutu placed his arms around the boy and gently spun with him. “Wanting to shine for someone isn’t wrong, but doesn’t it feel better to shine for people who want you with them?”

The young boy smiled softly. “Yes, that is true.” He stepped away from their dance. “Prince Tutu, I want to continue illuminating you.” He nodded and disappeared back into his lamp, leaving behind a glowing red figure of Victor. The shard looked confused for a moment, but then turned its gaze towards Tutu.

“I am the shard of affection, shattered and forgotten,” the shard said to Tutu.

Tutu smiled. “It’s time to go home now.” The shard flew into Tutu’s hands and he skipped over to where Victor was sleeping. He gently pushed the shard into Victor’s chest, which stirred Victor awake.

“Prince Tutu?” Victor asked drowsily as he sat up. “Where am I?”

“You are safe my prince,” Prince Tutu answered. “But you must hurry out of here. I believe someone is waiting for you.”

Tutu picked up the lamp that had once contained the heart shard and together he and Victor made their way out of the labyrinth under the library. As soon as they stepped out of the building, Tutu bowed to Victor.

“This is where I must leave you my prince,” Tutu said. “But I am sure we will meet again soon.”

“Thank you, Prince Tutu,” Victor replied. He then made his way towards the square of the Fire Festival. Tutu waited a moment, and then changed back into Yuri. He then began to follow Victor towards the square. It was so late, he hoped someone would still be waiting for Victor.

Chris had been waiting in the square all evening. Sure the special class had performed – without Victor, which had made Celestino very upset- and the crowd had cheered, and Chris had danced around the fire with other members of the class, but still, he waited, and as the night drug on, he became more worried about Victor. Victor, in his own way, had actually been excited for the Fire Festival, and it worried Chris that he had not shown up. Now most of the crowd of the festival had gone home, and the bonfire was beginning to die down.

“ _I should probably go looking for him_ ,” Chris thought worriedly, but as he turned to go start searching, there Victor was, standing as if he hadn’t disappeared all night.

“Vitya!” Chris cried, running up and embracing his friend. “I was so worried! Where have you been?”

“I’m sorry,” Victor replied. “Is the festival over?”

“Pretty much,” Chris replied. “Ciao Ciao is so mad at you for not showing up.”

“Sorry,” Victor said, taking Chris’s hand and twirling him around.

“Vitya, what are you doing?” Chris asked, confused.

“You were waiting to dance with me weren’t you?” Victor asked. “So let’s dance.” Victor began to twirl around with Chris, dancing in the square even though there was no music and barely any people around.

Chris began to laugh. “You’re ridiculous you know that?” Victor just smiled in response.

From an alleyway coming off the square, Yuri watched the two dance from the glow of the lamp in his arms. He was happy that Chris had waited this long for Victor, but as he watched the two laugh and dance, he felt his chest tighten and a sadness enveloped him. As he turned away and began to walk back to his dorm, his vision began to blur and hot tears began to fall down his face.

“Yuri why are you being an idiot?” Yuri muttered to himself, frustratingly trying to wipe the tears from his eyes. “This is how things should be. You can’t be with him anyway.” He hiccupped and kept trying to wipe his tears away as he walked, but soon he sank to his knees and let his sadness overwhelm him. He hadn’t thought that he wanted to be with Victor, but seeing him laugh and have fun with someone else hurt him. He wanted Victor to dance with him more, to smile with him. Yuri wasn’t jealous, he was just saddened by a fact that even if he now realized he liked Victor in a romantic way, he couldn’t do anything about his feelings.

Even though Victor had finally gained a feeling a happiness, it seemed as though that feeling had illuminated Yuri’s unhappiness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ... Well Victor is finally happy... our protag isn't though. I'm sorry for the angst, it just kind of happened. Please forgive me.  
>  Also this fic should just be called "how can the author avoid turning Yuri into a piglet because she hasn't figured out how she's turning him back from a piglet yet" because that is how its being written lol.
> 
> The chapter art of Victor and Yuri was done by me! I just wanted to draw the fluff man.
> 
> As always, if you want to talk to me about yoi or princess tutu or anything, feel free to leave a comment or message me on my [ tumblr](http://cowlover2.tumblr.com)!
> 
> This fic is not beta'd, so if you find any mistakes or if something doesn't make sense, let me know!


	6. Aurora Dreaming

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yuri's class gets invited to the theater department as the actors prepare for their performance of Sleeping Beauty. However, things always go awry when a heart shard gets involved.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! Here's chapter 6. Sorry it's been awhile since the last chapter, I procrastinated hardcore on this chapter for some reason. It's one of my favorite episodes in the show so hopefully it still came out okay!

_Once upon a time, a witch laid a curse, which cast a princess into an eternal slumber. One day, a young man appeared intending to awake her. But then, a voice whispers “Awaken the princess from her sleep? What a cruel thing to do! For what if the princess wishes not to receive the kiss of awakening, but rather to continue to sleep forever?”_

_…_

“Alright class! Gather around, I have exciting news,” Celestino said, clapping his hands. The two classes hadn’t even gotten into their practice clothes before Ciao Ciao had called them to group up.

“The advanced theater class is performing a production of _Sleeping Beauty_ in about a week,” Ciao Ciao explained. “Because there is some element of dance in the performance, they have invited our classes to not only observe their practice, but to also tour around their backstage set. I thought this would be a good opportunity for you to observe how a professional stage environment might be in your futures.”

The class began to whisper excitedly among themselves until Ciao Ciao clapped again. “That said, we mustn’t be late, I want all of you to meet me in the front of the ballet building in five minutes so we can walk to the theater as a group, alright? Don’t dawdle.” With that Ciao Ciao walked out of the classroom, a group of excited ballet students following behind him.

Yuri sighed and got up to follow Ciao Ciao outside. He was having a hard time getting excited though. Knowing he was just a piglet, he probably wouldn’t get the chance to be dance in a production. Also, he was still disheartened from his experience at the fire festival. Especially when his heart thudded louder in his ears when he saw Victor holding Chris’s hand as they followed Ciao Ciao. Yuri wondered if it was just the shard affecting Victor, or if Victor was really this affectionate all the time. Yuri had noticed that Victor seemed to be most affected by the shard he had gotten most recently, so there was really no way of telling how Victor really acted.

“Yuri!” Phichit said, jumping on Yuri as they waited outside for everyone to gather. “Aren’t you excited? A real stage! Do you think they’ll show us the lighting equipment?”

“Since when are you into stage lighting?” Yuri questioned.

“Since I decided that stage lighting is going to be my backup career for when I retire from ballet,” Phichit stated matter-of-factly.

“Hm,” Yuri replied. “You’ll be good at that.”

“Right?” Phichit said.

The group began their trip to the theater department, and soon Chris and Victor came over to talk with Phichit, with Yurio brooding a few steps behind them. Chris and Phichit got into an animated conversation, leaving Yuri to stew in his own thoughts. He didn’t even notice when Victor came up next to him.

“Hi Yuri,” Victor said, pushing a strand of hair behind his ear.

“Oh, h-hi Victor,” Yuri replied. “Are you excited to see the practice?”

“I’m not sure,” Victor answered. “I’m not really sure how I feel about anything right now.”

“Oh,” Yuri said. “Um, well, I wish I could help. I don’t really think I can though.”

“That’s what Chris said,” Victor replied. “Yurio just yelled at me that I don’t need feelings and I should stop thinking about them, but I can’t stop thinking about them.”

“Your feelings are important,” Yuri said. “You should have the chance to figure out what they mean.”

Victor smiled softly. “Thank you, Yuri.”

Yuri’s heart flew into his throat. “Y-you’re welcome,” Yuri choked out, feeling his face light on fire. He wondered if he’d ever be able to talk to Victor without feeling like he was going to combust.

“Yuri watch out!”

Before Yuri could even comprehend Phichit’s words, he tripped on a cobblestone in the street that had come out of the ground. Flailing his arms, he was sure that he was going to faceplant on the pavement when two arms reached out and propped him back up.

“Easy there! Wouldn’t want you to hurt yourself!”

“Sorry,” Yuri mumbled, looking up at who had caught him. He found himself looking at a rather tall girl, with short fiery red hair and striking blue eyes. Yuri could tell from the grip on his arms that this girl was very strong and could probably break him like a toothpick. But her smile was so kind.

“No problem, glad I was here!” the girl replied. She turned towards Celestino. “You guys are the ballet department, right?”

“We are,” Ciao Ciao said reaching out his hand. “I’m Celestino Cialdini, their teacher.”

The girl shook his hand. “I’m Mila Babicheva, I’m the lead actress in our production! Follow me, I’ll start showing you around.”

As the group started to follow Mila into the drama department, Phichit whispered in Yuri’s ear “Yuri you were like a damsel in distress and she was a princess who saved you!”

“Shut up Phichit,” Yuri muttered back, shoving Phichit lightly as they walked. Phichit had to cover up his mouth to keep from laughing too loud.

Mila began to show them around the drama department. They first went by the costume department, and were suddenly surrounded by beautiful gowns and flowing fabrics. The group stared around in awe as drama students rushed around, working on various costumes.

“This is where actors and actresses are transformed into princes and princesses,” Mila said. “Sara, are you back here?”

“Yes, my dear!” A voice called from the back of the costume shop. A few moments later a girl appeared. She had dark olive skin and long black hair with beautiful violet eyes. She was wearing a navy blue long sleeved shirt and black leggings, and a measuring tape was hanging around her neck.

“Everyone, this is our head costume designer Sara Crispino,” Mila explained. “She also has a role in the play. Also, she’s my beautiful girlfriend!”

“You’re sweet to me Mila,” Sara replied. “Hello everyone! Do you want to see some of the costumes up close?” The ballet students replied enthusiastically and Sara showed them the costumes she had completed and was finishing. Each costume was amazing and it showed that Sara took pride in her work.

They said good bye to Sara to let her get on with her work and were exploring the different sets backstage when suddenly the lights flickered off.

“Ugh,” Mila said. “Our lighting is unreliable sometimes. Mickey!” Mila shouted into the wings of the stage.

“I’m working on it!” A male voice shouted back. The group heard some loud banging coming from backstage and the lights flickered back on.

“Thanks Mickey! Can you come here when you’re not busy?” Mila yelled again. Soon a grumpy looking boy emerged from backstage. He looked a lot like Sara, with the same violet eyes and dark skin. His hair was short and auburn. His hands were covered in oil that his was wiping on a towel.

“What’s up Mila?” the boy- presumably Mickey- asked.

“I just wanted to introduce you to our guests!” Mila replied. She turned towards the ballet group. “This is Michele Crispino, our head set engineer. If you need something to happen in a set, Mickey can probably do it. He’s also Sara’s twin brother.” Michele just grunted in greeting and then walked off to work on something.

“Mickey has a little to be desired in the communication department,” Mila said, causing the ballet students to chuckle.

“Mila!” A drama student called to her. “We wanted to practice the lighting for your solo, can you come here for a minute?”

“Sure!” Mila said waving. She turned to the ballet students. “You can all sit in the audience and watch if you want.” She filed all the ballet students into the auditorium and soon the students were watching Mila transform herself into Aurora. She was the picture of grace and poise, and the students could only wonder how magical she would look in her costume.

However suddenly as she practiced she stopped in the middle of the stage, as if frozen. Yuri’s pendent began to glow softly in the dark of the auditorium. He clasped his hands around the necklace.

“ _A heart shard?”_ Yuri thought to himself. He wondered where it was, or if that was what caused Mila to stop.

“Mila, are you okay?” Once of the drama students gently asked, shaking Mila out of her sudden stop.

“Oh, um, yeah I’m alright, sorry,” Mila replied. “I guess I just need a break.” She rubbed her head sheepishly and turning to the ballet students. “Why don’t we all take a break for lunch and then later you can watch our run through.”

The ballet group split apart for lunch and Mila made her way backstage to her dressing room. Sighing she slumped down into a chair in front of her vanity mirror and laid her head on her hands. She wasn’t one to get nervous before performances but for some reason, every time she performed as Aurora she ended up frozen with fear. A knock came from her door, pulling her from her thoughts.

“Come in!” Mila answered, and as the door creaked open Sara poked her head in.

“I wanted to see how you were doing,” Sara said stepping into the room. “I overheard someone saying you froze during practice.”

“Oh, it’s nothing,” Mila said, trying to brush it off.

“Mila,” Sara said sternly, sitting on the vanity in front of Mila. “It’s not like you to get nervous. What’s going on?”

“I…” Mila replied, trying to put together her thoughts. “I don’t know. When I was little I got to see _Sleeping Beauty_ on stage and ever since I’ve wanted to play the part of Aurora more than anything. Now that I have the part… I just feel like I’m no good at it. Like I can’t be Aurora. Like all my dreaming is over and I have to wake up.”

“Hm,” Sara pondered, twirling a piece of her hair on a finger. “Then you shouldn’t play Aurora.”

Mila flinched. “That was rather blunt Sara.”

“Well it’s true, isn’t it?” Sara asked. “Aurora was a girl who would keep dreaming even if she woke up. It sounds like you’re afraid to dream.” Sara took Mila’s hands in hers. “Mila, you’re the greatest actress I know. I just think you’re putting too much pressure on yourself to be an Aurora you can’t be. Change the character into one you can play, make Aurora your own.”

“You really believe I can do that?” Mila asked.

“I know you can!” Sara said. “Show the world your Aurora, Mila.”

Mila suddenly felt as if a huge weight had lifted from her shoulders, one she hadn’t realized was there. Mila hugged Sara tightly. “I love you Sara, you know that?”

“I love you too,” Sara said, hugging Mila back.

As they broke apart from their hug, Mila asked, “Hey, before we start the dress rehearsal this afternoon, I thought about letting a couple of the ballet students dance. Do you have any costumes they could wear?”

“Hm, we probably have something,” Sara said, tapping her finger to her face in thought. “Send them to me when you’ve picked them and I’ll do what I can.”

“Thanks Sara,” Mila said.

Sara squeezed Mila’s hand. “See you later then!” Sara gave Mila a peck on the cheek and flounced out of the dressing room. Mila stood up and stretched. She had to go check on the ballet students.

As Mila left the room, a soft red glow came from the corner of the room. The glow materialized into the shape of Victor, with a confused and scared look on his face. Because Mila had been able to resolve her fears, the shard had been ejected from her heart, and now had nowhere to go. He had to find another fearful heart. He couldn’t be alone.

…

“This is stupid, I can’t believe we have to do this.”

Yurio and Yuri stood on the stage, both wearing matching costumes. They were both wearing white tailcoats and tights, and the tailcoats had golden accents on the shoulders.

 Mila had come back after lunch and suggested that the ballet students dance so that she could get a better idea as how to move as Aurora. Unluckily, Ciao Ciao had singled out Yuri to dance, and to make things worse, Ciao Ciao seemed like he was going to pick Victor to dance with him, which wouldn’t have been bad, except then Yurio had angrily volunteered instead. So now they stood onstage, waiting for the music to start.

“Well, you did volunteer, you didn’t have to do this,” Yuri mumbled.

“Shut up loser,” Yurio snapped. The music began, and Yuri and Yurio began to dance, with Yuri taking the lead much to Yurio’s disapproval. As they danced, Yurio began to snap at Yuri.

“God, you’re pathetic,” Yurio began. “I don’t know why Victor has become interested in you, but stay away from him if you know what’s good for you.”

Yuri dipped Yurio and brought him back up. “What are you talking about? If anything, you should stay away from Victor.” Yuri was surprised at his own boldness, but it made him angry to see Yurio treat Victor the way he did. “You’re always treating Victor like some toy you want all to yourself. He can have other friends besides you.”

As they danced across the stage, Yurio countered. “Shut up! I know what’s best for Victor, don’t pretend like you know anything about him! Who the hell do you think you are?”

“I may not be anyone,” Yuri said. “But I do know that what you want for Victor isn’t what Victor wants.”

“You don’t know anything!” Yurio yelled, and with that Yuri spun Yurio out, and the dance ended. Yurio stomped off the stage before the ballet students even stopped clapping, leaving Yuri very alone, and slightly irritated.

“That was wonderful!” Mila said, jogging up next to Yuri. “Your dancing is truly expressive of how you feel! I hope you don’t mind if I borrow some choreography?”

“Oh, um, of course not,” Yuri sputtered. “I’m not that good though. Yurio is actually a lot better than me.”

“Your dancing was beautiful, don’t sell yourself short,” Mila said. “Why don’t you go get changed and then you can come back out and we’ll start the rehearsal alright?”

Yuri made his way back to the dressing room, and after he changed, he walked out and his pendant began to glow.

“ _The heart shard?”_ Yuri wondered. He had thought the shard was with Mila, but he wasn’t near Mila anymore. Yuri began to follow the light of his pendant through the halls of the theater building. As he turned a corner, he finally saw the heart shard wandering down the hall.

“ _Why is the shard by itself_?” Yuri thought. Yuri went to follow the shard, but as soon as it heard Yuri’s footsteps, it bolted away.

Quickly transforming into Prince Tutu, Tutu ran down the hallway after the shard.

“Please, I won’t hurt you!” Tutu called to the shard. “I’m here to take you home!” The shard didn’t stop however, and turned and ran up some stairs. Yuri spun and green vines covered the stairwell, blocking the shard from running any further. The vines also grew behind him, keeping the shard blocked.

“Why do you run away from me?” Tutu asked, reaching a hand out to the shard.

“I-I’m scared,” The shard replied, pressing himself closely to the wall of vines.

“There’s nothing to be afraid of,” Tutu said. “You’re safe. I just want to bring you back to where you belong.”

“Why?” the frightened shard asked. “What for?”

“So that Victor can smile again,” Tutu replied. “So that his heart can be whole. Now, please, come with me.”

The shard stared at Yuri, but then his hand began to glow, and a glowing red sword formed in the hand of the heart shard.

“I won’t go back!” the shard yelled, swinging the sword over his head and at Tutu. Tutu lifted his hands above him, expecting the sword to cut through him, but as soon as the sword hit Tutu’s hands, it formed into the shape of its shard once more, resting in Tutu’s hands. Tutu moved to cover the shard in his hands, but it quickly flew out of Tutu’s cupped hands, presumably to go back to Victor. Tutu frowned. He didn’t know why this shard was so afraid, but Tutu was concerned as to how the shard was going to affect Victor.

…

Victor was sitting near the back of the auditorium with Chris, waiting for the dress rehearsal to start. Suddenly, a weight fell upon his chest, and he looked down to see the glow of a heart shard entering his chest.

“ _Strange,_ ” Victor thought, covering his heart with his hands. “ _I wonder where Tutu is?”_ Tutu normally delivered the heart shards in person.

All of the sudden, as the glow subsided, it was as if his body had been submerged in ice. He felt cold, and his vision started to grow fuzzy. His incomplete heart pounded in his ears as he struggled to breathe. Something was wrong. Why did he feel like this? He shot out of his chair and ran out of the auditorium, trying to escape the feeling.

“Vitya?” Chris called after the boy, but Victor didn’t respond. Chris stood up to follow his friend when he heard Yurio shout at him.

“Chris? Where’s Victor?” Yurio asked.

“I don’t know,” Chris replied. “He just ran out, I was going to go see if something was wrong.”

“I’m coming with you!” Yurio said, and the two ran out of the auditorium to find Victor.

…

Yuri had changed back from Tutu, and was going back to the auditorium when suddenly Victor slammed open the auditorium door and ran outside.

“Oh no,” Yuri muttered. The shard must have done something. Yuri ran outside and found Victor sitting under a tree, hugging his knees to his chest. Yuri slowly made his way towards Victor and crouched next to Victor.

“Victor, are you okay?” Yuri asked quietly. Victor flinched and brought his head up, his scared eyes softening a bit when he saw Yuri. Victor pulled Yuri into his arms and burrowed his head into Yuri’s shoulder, holding Yuri tightly.

“I’m so scared Yuri,” Victor choked out. Yuri could hear Victor’s heart pounding loudly in his chest.

“What are you scared of Victor?” Yuri asked, gently petting Victor’s head, trying to calm the other boy down.

“My feelings,” Victor whispered. “I don’t know what they mean, it’s so terrifying. I don’t ever know how I feel, or how others feel about me and it’s frightening.”

“It will be alright Victor,” Yuri murmured. “You’ll learn what they mean. You have so many people that care about you, they’ll help you.”

“I’m so afraid Yuri,” Victor whispered again. Yuri didn’t know how to respond, so he kept just stroking Victor’s head.

“Victor!”

Victor flinched at the loud shout, and Yuri turned his head to see Chris and Yurio running towards them.

“Yuri, what happened?” Chris asked.

“I don’t know,” Yuri replied softly. “I saw Victor run out here and I found him like this. He’s scared.”

“Vitya, what are you scared of?” Chris asked, but Victor didn’t reply, just kept his head hidden in Yuri’s shoulder. Chris turned to Yurio. “You should take him back to your dorm. I can tell Ciao Ciao what happened.”

Yurio nodded and tapped Victor on the shoulder. “C’mon Victor, we should go home. Nothing scary about home.” However, Victor wouldn’t let go of Yuri.

“I-I can come with you,” Yuri suggested. “S-since he won’t let go.”

Yurio rolled his eyes. “Whatever, let’s just go.” With some coaxing, Yuri was able to get Victor to walk back with him and Yurio, however, Victor wouldn’t let go of Yuri’s hand the whole walk back.

Once Victor was safely back in his own dorm, Yuri went back to his room and curled up in his bed. It was scary, seeing Victor react to a heart shard like that. Maybe Yurio had a point. Maybe Victor was happier without a heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ... I made Victor sad again. Sorry :\ Our little Yuri has some stuff to think about now.  
>  (also to those of you who wanted Koala Victor... you're welcome)
> 
> This fic is not beta'd so if you find something wrong, let me know so I can fix it!
> 
> As always, if you want to talk to me about yoi or princess tutu or anything, feel free to leave a comment or message me on my [ tumblr](http://cowlover2.tumblr.com)! (if you message me on tumblr be sure to tell me you came from the fic, otherwise I might just think you're a spambot, :\ )


	7. The Raven Prince

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yuri questions his role as Prince Tutu when Victor stops coming to school. Meanwhile Victor tries to figure out his feelings, and gets a little help.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's Chapter 7! Sorry it was a bit late, I ended up getting a little busy so I didn't write. I hope you enjoy the chapter!

_Once upon a time, there was a child._

_For the child, the world was filled with wonder. How? Why? How come? When one mystery was solved, two new mysteries would arise. When two mysteries were solved, four new mysteries would arise. When four mysteries were solved, countless mysteries would appear. In time, the child came to be consumed by these mysteries._

_…_

Yuri sighed and laid his head on the cafeteria table. He didn’t know what to do. Victor hadn’t been in class for a week now, and neither had Yurio. Yuri knew that the heart shard of fear had messed with Victor’s head, but the fact that he must still be reacting badly to it put Yuri in a state of confusion. He didn’t know what he should do. Did Victor even want his heart anymore? Did Yuri even want to find any more shards for Victor? It hurt Yuri to see Victor suffering and to not be able to help him.

Yuri was so deep in his thoughts that he didn’t even see Phichit slide up a chair next to him at the table.

“Alright Yuri, I have given you enough moping time, are you finally going to tell me whats wrong?” Phichit asked, poking Yuri in the face and causing him to jump in his seat.

“What? No, I’m alright,” Yuri lied defensively.

“Right. Now that we have that lie out of the way, tell me what’s wrong,” Phichit replied, leaning into his friend. “Yuri you’ve been brooding for days, I hate seeing you like this.”

Yuri sighed. “It’s not that big a deal Phichit, I just have stuff on my mind is all.”

“Does it have anything to do with Victor?”

Yuri’s eyes widened in surprise. “What?”

“I’m not stupid Yuri,” Phichit replied. “He hasn’t been coming to class and you’ve been upset. It probably has something to do with why you, Victor, and Yurio all left the play rehearsal early last week, but you wouldn’t talk about that either. So, I’ve come to the conclusion that your sulking is due to Victor being absent. Am I close?”

Yuri stared at his friend and then put his head back on the table. “I don’t know what to do anymore Phichit. Everything’s just… wrong and I don’t know if I can fix it.”

“That sounds heavy,” Phichit said. Phichit tapped his finger to his head in thought. “Yuri have you ever heard of the prodding bridge?”

“Huh?” Yuri asked, lifting his head back up. “No, what’s the prodding bridge?”

“It’s this bridge over by the old mill in town,” Phichit continued. “People go to it when they have problems or need to figure something out. Legend says that if you ask questions at that bridge, a voice will answer you and help figure out your problem.”

“A voice?” Yuri asked. “Like a ghost?”

“Could be,” Phichit answered, mischievously wiggling his eyebrows. “I’ve never been so I have no idea, I just hear rumors. Since you evidently don’t want to tell me what’s bugging you- I’m hurt Yuri, truly- you should go to the bridge. Who knows, it could help.”

“I guess,” Yuri said dejectedly. It wasn’t like he had anything to lose.

That afternoon after school, Yuri made his way to the prodding bridge. When he finally made it to the north side of town, he saw a figure already standing on the bridge, leaning against the railing of the bridge. As Yuri walked closer, he saw that the contemplative figure was Chris. Chris looked up as Yuri made his way closer.

“Hey Yuri,” Chris said, giving a small wave. “Funny seeing you here.”

“Yeah,” Yuri said. “You here to ask the bridge questions too?”

“I was,” Chris replied. “However, I don’t think I’m getting any answers from the famed prodding bridge today.”

“Anything I could help with?” Yuri asked. “You don’t have to tell me, I just thought I would offer.”

“It seems as if you’ve got enough going on in your head,” Chris said, standing up from the railing and shoving his hands in his pockets. “Thanks for offering though.”

“No problem,” Yuri replied. “We’re friends, right? Friends help friends.”

Chris smiled. “You truly are a good friend Yuri.” Chris started to walk away but then stopped and turned his head back towards Yuri. “Hey Yuri… you know about Victor, right? That he doesn’t have a heart?”

Yuri froze. How did Chris figure that out? Did Chris know he was Tutu? “I, uh, yeah, I know.”

“So, do you think he needs a heart?” Chris asked, turning back towards Yuri. “Do you think he should suffer through his emotions like the rest of us?”

“I-I did think that Victor should have a heart,” Yuri replied. “I’m not sure anymore.”

Chris nodded, then began to walk away again. “Take care of yourself Yuri.”

Yuri stared confused at Chris as he walked away. Was Victor the reason Chris had come here too? Yuri leaned against the railing on the bridge. He had no idea what to do. Victor had once told him that he had wanted to get his heart back, had thanked him. But it seemed that gaining parts of his heart was hurting Victor more. Yuri didn’t want to hurt Victor anymore, he cared for him too much for that.

As he stood on the bridge, Yuri’s pendant began to softly glow. Yuri’s immediate reaction was to look around to try and find the heart shard, but he stopped himself. He unclasped the pendant from around his neck and looked at the red jewel in his hand.

“I could quit being Tutu,” Yuri mumbled to himself. Tutu only brought Victor pain and sadness. Yuri was only being selfish by continuing his work as Tutu, wasn’t he? He only kept it up because he wanted to stay a boy. He wanted to be able to be with Victor, and keep being friends with Phichit and Chris. Was being selfish worth it if I brought harm to Victor?

“I should just end this!” Yuri exclaimed softly, closing his eyes tightly to fight tears that threatened to spill out of his eyes. “I should just stop being selfish.” Yuri raised the pendant over his head. “I just let my feelings cloud my judgment. I’m so sorry Victor.” A tear dripped off of Yuri’s face, but as it hit the water, the splash froze in midmotion. In fact, everything around Yuri froze. Time had stopped all around him.

“ ** _Long time no see, little piglet_**.”

Yuri whipped around and saw a large wooden grandfather clock sitting on the bridge behind him. Before Yuri could even begin to question where the clock had come from, the clock’s front face flew open like a door, and a figure stepped out. He was an older man with graying hair covered by a black hat. His face seemed to be plastered into a permanent scowl. He wore a long black coat and pointed black shoes.

“Y-Yakov?” Yuri stuttered, shocked at the sudden arrival of the man who had given him the pendant. He had never actually seen Yakov before, as the man had hidden himself in shadow the last time they had met. This was his first time seeing the man in the flesh.

“ ** _I came here to try and talk you out of your foolish plan of quitting your vocation as Prince Tutu. You must restore the prince’s heart to him.”_**

“B-but, is that really what’s best for Victor?” Yuri asked, clutching his pendant to his chest. “All I’ve been able to give him is sadness and fear.”

“ ** _Yes, the brat probably deserves it- however, if you go back to being a piglet, you’ll never see the prince again, do you really want that?_** ”

“Of course I don’t want that!” Yuri exclaimed. “I want to stay by his side forever, but I can’t keep hurting him! Why can’t you find the rest of his shards for him?”

“ ** _Unfortunatly, I no longer reside in the land of the living. That’s the reason why the story was unfinished, why the prince and the raven escaped the story, and why the prince shattered his heart in the first place.”_**

“H-how-" Yuri stammered, not knowing where to begin about asking how a supposed dead man was standing in front of him right now.

“ ** _It’s not important,_** ” Yakov replied. “ ** _What is important is that you should continue to restore the prince’s heart. You’re the only one who can._** ”

“Why?” Yuri asked. “Why me? I’m no one, I’m not special!”

“ ** _That’s exactly why you must be Prince Tutu!”_**

“What?” Yuri asked, confused.

“ ** _Prince Tutu is fated to never be with the one he loves, as are you little piglet. If you don’t take on the mantle of Prince Tutu, no one will.”_**

Yuri looked down at the pendant in his hand. All it had brought was suffering. What was the point in it? There was no point in Yuri continuing on.

“I’m done Yakov!” Yuri yelled. “I’m done bringing Victor pain!” With that, Yuri threw the pendant down into the river below him. As soon as the pendant left his hand, Yuri transformed back into a piglet, and ran away snorting.

“ ** _No, what have you done?”_** Yakov stepped quickly back into the grandfather clock. This was a very large setback to the story, he had to figure out a way to convince Yuri to reclaim the mantle of Prince Tutu, or all would be lost.

…

Victor yelled and sat up quickly in his bed, wrapping his arms tightly around himself to try and stop his frightened shaking. For a week now his sleep had been plagued by nightmares, images of a large dark figure with red eyes coming to swallow him.

“Victor, it’s okay, you’re safe,” Yuri said, walking over to Victor, sitting next to him on the bed.

“I saw it again Yuri,” Victor said. “The horrible monster, I just feel like it’s coming for me and I can’t stop it.”

“And I told you that you’re safe,” Yuri replied, furrowing his brow. It was rare that Victor would call him by his name and not by the stupid nickname Victor had given him. Victor was really distressed, and there wasn’t really anything Yuri could do.

“Yuri, what is that thing? Why does it keep appearing to me?” Victor said, covering his face in frustration.

“It’s just a nightmare, it’s nothing,” Yuri said. “You’re safe, as long as you stay in here where I can look after you. Eventually you’ll forget everything.”

Victor hugged his knees to his chest and buried his head in his lap. He wasn’t sure he wanted to forget. He just wanted to stop this fear that had gripped him for days. He was forgetting what it felt like to not be so afraid and he hated it.

Yuri stood up from the bed. “I have to go get some stuff, just stay here. You’re safe Victor.” Yuri grabbed a bag off of a chair and then walked out of the room, leaving Victor alone.

After a moment, Victor stood up from his bed and paced around the room. He felt caged, his fear trapping him. He wanted to leave. Yuri had told him to stay put, but he couldn’t do that. He quickly walked out of the room and left the dorm. He probably looked like a mess walking around in his pajamas and no shoes, his long hair flying messily around him. He hugged his arms around him as he quickly walked. He didn’t know where he was running, he just needed to go.

He stopped when he made it to a bridge over a river. He leaned against the railing and ran his fingers through his hair, frustratingly pulling at it.

“What are you so afraid of Victor?” he asked himself softly. “Why are you afraid?”

“ _Why are you afraid? Why come here if you’re afraid_?”

Victor turned his head around, trying to find the source of the voice that had spoken to him. “Who’s there?”

“ _I’m down here. Who are you_?”

Victor looked down at the river below him. Soft ripples were coursing across the surface of the water.

“I’m Victor,” he replied to the mysterious voice.

As the voice replied, ripple began to form across the water’s surface. “ _Why did you come here Victor_?”

“I’m afraid,” Victor replied.

“ _What are you afraid of_?”

“At first I thought it was just my feelings,” Victor answered. “But now it just feels like I’m afraid of everything.”

“ _Why are you afraid of your feelings?”_

“Well, I don’t have a heart so-" Victor started but was interrupted.

“ _You don’t have a heart? Why do you not have a heart?”_

“I… don’t know,” Victor replied. “I feel like I gave it up for an important reason, but I can’t remember why.”

“ _How strange. I’ve had many people come and talk with me, but you are by far the strangest. Will you come here and talk with me more?”_

“Come, with you?” Victor asked. Below him, the water vibrated as if in excitement and began to form a swirling whirlpool.

“ _Yes, come with me. You’re so strange, I would like to know more about you.”_

“Oh, okay,” Victor said, almost in a trance due to the swirling water. He climbed up onto the side of the bridge and then leaped towards the water below. The river almost seemed to embrace him, spinning around him like a dance partner. Soon it was dragging him down towards the bottom, asking him questions all the way.

…

“Victor no!” Yuri squealed, running down the bank of the river. He couldn’t do anything to stop what was happening, even if he wanted to. As a piglet he couldn’t swim very well, and even if he could get to Victor he wouldn’t be able to pull Victor out by himself.

“What do I do?” Yuri asked himself. He couldn’t just sit and watch Victor drown. He couldn’t let this heart shard take Victor away.

“If only I could become Prince Tutu one last time!”

Suddenly, Yuri heard a soft melody floating towards him, and he turned and saw Miss Minako walking towards him with her musical cart. Before Yuri could say anything, she reached into her cart and pulled out Yuri’s red pendant.

“I believe you lost this,” Minako said. She knelt down in front of Yuri. “Go and save your prince.”

Minako draped the pendant over Yuri’s head and he felt a familiar warmth as he transformed into Prince Tutu once again. Once transformed, he bowed to Minako in thanks and leapt into the river, spinning and creating a tornado of air around him as he floated down towards Victor.

As Yuri landed softly at the bottom of the river, Victor looked at Tutu warily.

“Tutu,” Victor breathed quietly.

“ _Tutu? Who is that?”_

“He’s been restoring my heart to me,” Victor said. “I… think I’m afraid of him.”

“Please, don’t be afraid of me my prince!” Tutu replied. “Please come back with me.”

“ _Why is Victor afraid of you?”_ the heart shard asked. “ _Why do you restore his heart to him?”_

“I-it’s because,” Tutu stuttered. “It’s because it’s what I thought the prince wanted. I thought restoring his heart was what was best for him. There are so many painful feelings like sorrow and fear, but there are also joyous feelings like happiness and love. I wanted Victor to be able to understand all of those emotions but-" Tutu paused as tears welled up in his eyes and his legs trembled underneath him. “I never wished for the prince to suffer this much because of me!” Tutu sank to his knees and sobbed into his hands. “I’m so sorry!”

As Tutu cried, he didn’t even notice as Victor slowly walked up to him.

“Tutu, please don’t cry.”’

Tutu looked up and saw Victor smiling softly down at him with an extended hand. “I’ll come back with you.”

Tutu wiped the tears from his eyes and took Victor’s hand. Together, the two gently floated to the surface of the water and leapt over to the river bank. After a few moments, the red shining figure of one of Victor’s heart shards floated up to the surface as well.

“ _You fear this person, yet you go with them? How odd.”_

“My prince, this will be the last time you see me,” Tutu said. “I promise not to appear before you again." Tutu bowed and turned to leave, but Victor grabbed his wrist.

“Tutu, wait.”

Tutu turned back towards Victor. “Yes, my prince?”

“I-I think I understand at little of how I’m feeling right now,” Victor said, releasing Tutu’s hand. “At first, I was afraid of you, but I think now I’m more afraid that you’ll leave me. I don’t want you to just disappear.” Victor gripped the front of his pajama shirt. “Even if I don’t always understand my feelings, and if they scare me sometimes, I still feel like I need them. When I think of you, I’m surrounded by this warm feeling, but if you go, I feel like I’ll forever be captured by the darkness of loneliness.” Victor’s eyes shined with unshed tears as he looked at Tutu. “So please, don’t go! Please, restore my heart, Prince Tutu.”

Tutu didn’t know what to say. He thought he had brought so much pain to Victor. To hear him say that he still wanted to continue on the adventure, it was almost too much. Tutu turned towards the heart shard that had been watching their conversation.

“What feeling are you?” Tutu asked, outstretching his hand towards the shard.

“ _I am the prince’s desire for knowledge,”_ The shard said, taking Tutu’s hand. Tutu cupped the shard gently in his hands and looked at Victor.

“Are you sure you want this?” Tutu asked. Victor nodded, and closed his eyes, bracing himself to receive the shard.

As Tutu reached out to give Victor the shard, a strong gust of wind picked up from out of nowhere. The trees around the river shook in the wind, and leaves began to gust around them. Then the wind stopped, and Tutu looked down to see the shard gone from his hands. Before he could comment, he heard what sounded like bird wings flapping, and he turned to see a figure twirling down from the sky.

[ ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/158968595@N05/37378134760/in/dateposted/)

The figure was clad in black, with a black tailcoat that looked like it was made from feathers and grey tights. He had dusty blonde hair that was topped by a black metal crown, and piercing red eyes, and his face held a smirk that mad Tutu’s blood run cold. And in his hand, with nails painted black, was Victors heart shard.

“W-who are you?” Yuri ask cautiously. “What do you want with Victor’s heart shard.”

The figure smirked. “I am Prince Kraehe. As for what I want with the heart shard, well I don’t really want it. I just want to keep you from having it.”

“B-but why?” Tutu asked.

“Because I’m tired of seeing you harm the prince,” Kraehe snapped. “So, I decided that instead of watching him suffer, I would just stop you from being able to do anything.” Kraehe waved his hand and the wind began to gust once more. “Stay away from the prince. Prince Tutu. Or there will be consequences.” Kraehe gave an evil chuckle and Tutu had to cover his face as leaves blew towards his eyes. When the wind finally stopped, both Victor and Kraehe were gone.

“Victor?” Tutu said, taking a few steps forward. “Victor!” But all Tutu heard was his own voice echoing back at him.

…

“Victor I’m back,” Yuri yelled into the room as he opened the door. His arms were filled with bags but he immediately dropped them when he saw what was in front of him. Victor was lying face down on the floor, seemingly unconscious. Looking around Victor, it didn’t seem like anyone had come into the dorm and hurt him, as there was no sign of a struggle.

“Hey Victor, cut it out,” Yuri said, walking over to Victor. Kneeling down, he gently shook Victor’s shoulder. “Wake up!” Victor groaned quietly but didn’t wake up, but Yuri saw something out of the corner of his eye. He gently picked it up between his fingers.

“So, they’ve finally made an appearance,” Yuri muttered under his breath as he stared at the pitch black feather in his hands. If the raven’s minion had finally made an appearance, events were going to start accelerating very quickly.

…

Back in another dorm room, Chris was curled up in his bed, staring at the black feather in his hands.

“Who… am I?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prince Kraehe finally makes his appearance! I've been so excited for Chris Kraehe ya'll. All I could think of for his first appearance was Kraehe spinning down to the ground in a cloud of black feathers while boss ass bitch by Nicki Minaj played in background. Changes the mood of the fanfic if you imagine it that way lol.
> 
> This fic is not beta'd so if you find something wrong, let me know so I can fix it!
> 
> As always, if you want to talk to me about yoi or princess tutu or anything, feel free to leave a comment or message me on my [ tumblr](http://cowlover2.tumblr.com)! (if you message me on tumblr be sure to tell me you came from the fic, otherwise I might just think you're a spambot, :\ )


	8. The Fountain of Warriors

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Both Yuri's wonder how to continue on their path to help Victor. Victor's belief in having his heart restored grows stronger. Chris can't seem to remember where he got the strange glowing crystal sitting in a box in his room...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 8 is here! Sorry for the long wait on the chapter, I took November off of writing this fic because of Nanowrimo. I didn't win nano, but every year I get closer and closer to succeeding lol. For nano I was working on another Victuuri AU fic, it's not done, but I shall post it when I finish it. It's a fun AU, I hope you'll like it :)
> 
> Until then, lets continue this adventure of a prince and a pig!

Chapter 8: The Fountains of Warriors

_Long ago, there was a warrior._

_In order to protect his friend, the warrior had to take his friend’s life._

_Long ago, there was a sword._

_This sword had continued to fight for peace, yet realized that to protect the peace, it had no choice but to kill the one who wielded it, and thus took its master’s life._

_The warrior and the sword had to do what they did, but is it what they ought to have done? Uncertain of the answer even now, they wander aimlessly._

_…_

Yuri sat next to Victor’s bed, carefully watching over him. After Kraehe had returned Victor, Victor’s sleep had been rather fitful. He kept mumbling about Kraehe and Tutu, and a heart shard. Yuri didn’t know what to do. If Victor kept acquiring heart shards at the rate he was, no good would come of it.

Suddenly, Yuri heard a tapping sound on the window. Fearful that it was a crow spy for Kraehe, Yuri jumped from his seat and pulled back the curtain. Thankfully, there was no crow, but the other Yuri was standing on the ground tossing rocks up at their window. Yuri grimaced. He was persistent, if nothing else. He didn’t know what all that Yuri knew about Victor, but he seemed to be on the side of Tutu, which meant he couldn’t be trusted. Yuri roughly pulled the curtain shut and sighed. This was getting difficult.

“Yurio?”

Victor’s soft voice called out to Yuri and he turned and saw the older boy looking confusedly at Yuri.

“Hey,” Yuri said, walking back over to Victor. “What happened to you? I came back, and you were lying on the ground and wouldn’t wake up.”

“Tutu,” Victor replied, putting a hand over his face as if trying to remember. “He tried to restore a piece of my heart to me, but then, a person named Kraehe came. He was dressed in black feathers like a bird, and then he stole the heart shard from Tutu. Why would he steal the heart shard? Wouldn’t it… wouldn’t it be better for me if I had a heart?”

“Forget it,” Yuri snapped, shoving Victor back onto the bed. “Go back to sleep, you’re safe here for now. Kraehe won’t be able to find you.” Victor nodded, then curled up on his side and went back to sleep. Yuri sighed again. Difficult indeed.

…

Chris was sitting up in his bed, hugging a pillow to himself and staring intently at the small black box sitting on his dresser. Chris wasn’t entirely sure how the box had gotten there, but it kept dimly glowing red and he swore he heard it whispering to him. Sliding quietly off the bed, Chris crept over to the box and held it gently in his hands. He cracked open the box, and gasped at what was inside. A small red crystal, about the length of a pinky finger, sat glowing in the cushioned insides of the box.

“ _What is this?”_ Chris wondered.

“ _Who are you? Why did you bring me back here?”_

Chris jumped at the sudden voice in his room. Jerking his head, he saw a red glowing figure standing behind him.

“V-victor?” Chris stammered. “No, you’re not him, you must be-"

_“I am the prince’s desire for knowledge,”_ the heart shard interrupted. _“Why were you dressed in black feathers? Why did you bring me here? Please tell me.”_

“I brought you here?” Chris asked, confused. “What do you mean?”

_“You also seem to want to know a lot of things,”_ the shard replied. “ _We’re so much alike. I wonder which you is the real you, this you, or the feathered one.”_

Chris covered his ears. “Stop, I don’t know what you’re talking about!”

_“Who are you really?”_

“Stop!” Chris yelled, knocking the box off of his dresser. Suddenly, the glowing figure of Victor disappeared, and the room was silent. Chris quickly shoved the box into on of the dresser drawers.

_“Chris what have you done?”_ he asked himself, sitting back down on his bed and cradling his head in his hands. _“Who are you?”_

_…_

Yuri walked to class the next morning almost in a daze. He hadn’t gotten much sleep the night before because after Victor and Kraehe had disappeared, he had gone out searching for them, but he couldn’t find either of them. He had stopped by Victor’s dorm in hopes that he might ask Yurio about it, but no one had answered. Then, desperately, he had thrown pebbles up at Victor’s window before he had needed to start walking to class. The curtain had moved a bit, but otherwise he had been ignored. He hoped Victor was okay.

“Yuri, I had no idea you were such a romantic!” a voice yelled, and suddenly Yuri was tackled by Phichit from behind, knocking the wind out of him.

“Confessing your love by tossing rocks at Victor’s window, how bold! It’s almost like Romeo and Juliet come to life!” Phichit continued, pretending to swoon across Yuri’s back.

“It wasn’t like that,” Yuri protested after he had managed to suck air back into his lungs. “I just wanted to see if Victor was okay, and Yurio wouldn’t open the door so-"

“That’s right, Victor and Yurio haven’t been to class in a bit have they?” Phichit replied, getting off of his friend. “Well, hopefully they’ll show up today.”

Yuri just nodded in response. He couldn’t shake this gnawing feeling of worry that was fogging up his mind.

The two walked to school together in comfortable silence until Phichit elbowed Yuri as they walked up to school.

“Looks like it’s your lucky day Yuri! I’ll just head on to the locker room so you can have your tearful reunion,” Phichit said, winking at Yuri and walking off. Yuri wasn’t quite sure what Phichit was talking about until he looked in front of him.

“Victor,” Yuri breathed. Even though Victor was many feet in front of him, and Yuri knew Victor couldn’t have hear him, he looked up from talking to Yurio and smiled at Yuri. Yuri took a couple shaky steps forward, then, almost not knowing what he was doing, Yuri ran to Victor and hugged him tightly.

“Victor you’re alright! I’m so glad,” Yuri said, trying to keep from crying. He had been so worried that Kraehe had done something to Victor, it was such a relief to see him.

Victor awkwardly hugged Yuri back. “It’s good to see you too Yuri.”

Yuri suddenly realized how embarrassing what he had just done was. He quickly let go of Victor. “Sorry, that must have been startling, it’s just that, you disappeared, so I went looking for you, but I couldn’t find you, so I’m just, glad you’re fine.” Yuri could feel his face heating up and he looked down at his feet in embarrassment.

“Why were you looking for Victor?” Yurio asked, making Yuri jump. He had almost forgotten Yurio had been there.

“Well, I mean, he was missing for like a week, so I was just, worried,” Yuri stammered.

“God, you’re such a pain,” Yurio snapped. “Just do what I keep telling you and leave Victor alone.”

“Stop being so rude to him Yurio,” Victor said.

“Stay out of it Victor!” Yurio barked, getting into Yuri’s face.

“Stay away from Victor,” Yurio growled, suddenly making Yuri’s blood run cold. “Come near him again, and you’ll pay for it, understand?” Yurio stood back and grabbed Victor’s arm. “We’re going, come on Victor.”

“Wait, Yurio,” Victor protested, but he ended up just being dragged away, leaving Yuri shaking and with a sour taste in his mouth.

…

Yuri sat on the steps of a gazebo behind the ballet building, contemplating his life choices. He had ended up skipping his morning practices, which he knew Ciao Ciao would be upset about, but he just had too much on his mind to focus on ballet right now. Yurio’s grip on Victor seemed to be tightening more and more as Victor regained more of his heart, and Yuri just didn’t understand why. Why would Yurio want to keep Victor from regaining his heart?

Soon, a familiar tune filtered into his ears and he looked up to see Minako sitting underneath a tree, turning the wheel of her music box. Yuri stood up and walked over to her.

“Hello Miss Minako,” Yuri said, sitting down in the grass next to Minako.

“Good morning Yuri,” Minako replied, stopping the music she was playing. “How are you doing?”

“Honestly,” Yuri replied, gathering his thoughts. “I don’t know. I’m just confused about what I should be doing right now.”

“What are you confused about?” Minako questioned.

Yuri sighed. “It’s just that, I want to help Victor, but Yurio keeps getting in the way. I know Victor wants to regain his heart, he told me that. But people like Yurio, and now Kraehe, keep going against what Victor wants.”

Minako hummed, then opened up her music box to show a multitude of gems. She rummaged around for a bit until she pulled out the one she wanted and held it out to Yuri. It was two glossy heart shaped gems, one colored red and the other left clear, and the two hearts were interlocked with each other. The gems were hanging off of a gold chain.

“This gem is called courage, one gem made of two,” Minako explained.

“One gem made of two…” Yuri murmered. “Does that mean I should work together with someone?” Yuri thought about it. It wasn’t a bad idea. If there were two people working together to help Victor regain his heart, then they could go against Yurio. He wasn’t sure who he could entrust with this secret though. He couldn’t bring Chris or Phichit into this, it could put them in danger. Really though, that only left Victor for Yuri to confide in.

“Should I tell Victor I’m Tutu?” Yuri asked, looking back at Minako. However, the space where Minako had been sitting was now just an empty space of grass. Yuri stood up and looked around, but Minako was nowhere to be seen.

“Strange,” Yuri mumbled. At least she had helped him come up with some semblance of a plan. He was going to tell Victor he was Tutu, and he’d do it today.

…

Victor stood in front of his locker after class, reading a note that had been slipped into the locker. Yuri came up to Victor and snatched the note out of his hand.

“What’s this, another love letter?” Yuri said, starting to glance over the note.

“Yuri says he has something he wants to talk to me about,” Victor replied. “I was just going to go meet him.”

“Did that fatso not here what I said to him?” Yuri muttered under his breath. He shoved the note back at Victor. “Throw it away, you don’t need to go.”

“No,” Victor replied, clutching the note.

Yuri’s eyes widened. “What did you just say to me?”

“I’m going to see him Yurio,” Victor answered.

Yurio scoffed. “You’re joking right? What point is there in going?”

“I like talking to Yuri,” Victor replied. “Besides, he might be able to tell me more about Tutu.”

“What do you think that idiot knows about Tutu?” Yuri said. “Besides, you should stop dealing with Tutu, he only brings you pain and suffering. Plus, you have that crazy bitch Kraehe coming after you now. More of a reason for you to avoid Tutu at all costs.”

“I’m going Yuri,” Victor replied sternly. Yuri stared at Victor, shocked.

“If I tell you no, I mean no, you’re not going!” Yuri shouted. The locker room around them suddenly quieted at the sound of Yuri’s shouting.

“I’m going,” Victor replied once again. Suddenly, the reverberating sound of a slap echoed through the locker room, and their classmates stared in shock as Victor reached up and touched his face where Yuri had suddenly smacked him.

“I’m sorry Yuri,” Victor said after a few moments. “But I’m going.” He walked out of the locker room, leaving Yuri in a stunned silence. Victor was getting harder and harder to control, which was unfortunate. At this rate, the only way to stop Victor, was to shatter his heart once more.

…

Yuri stood inside a church, in the stone underbelly where there were different coffins containing the important dead. However, the coffin that Yuri stood in front of was not filled with the dead. Yuri grunted as he slid the heavy stone lid off of the coffin to reveal the contents of the tomb. A sheathed sword, with a handle that looked like two swans, and a white mask were all that laid in the coffin. Yuri picked them both up and then ran out to a fountain in front of the church.

Placing his hand over the fountain, Yuri slit his hand with the sword and chanted as his blood dripped into the water. Slowly, the blood turned the water black.

“This sword which once shattered the prince’s heart and destroyed the evil raven, use this blood to grant the sword power once more.” Yuri touched the tip of the rusted sword to the water, and watched as the black water drew its way up the sword. Once the sword was covered, the water seemed to dry, and chip off, leaving the sword a shining silver once again.

“I’m sorry Victor,” Yuri muttered. “This is for your own good.”

…

Victor walked to the back of the school, and saw Yuri standing in the middle of a gazebo. Yuri smiled brightly when he saw Victor coming, but then his face furrowed in a frown.

“Victor, what happened to your face?” Yuri asked, rushing over to Victor and lightly hovering his hand over the dark bruise that was forming.

“Yurio hit me,” Victor replied. “He didn’t want me to come meet you.”

“Oh no, I’m so sorry Victor,” Yuri replied. “I keep causing you trouble it seems.”

“You’re fine,” Victor said. “What did you want to talk about?”

“Oh, well, um, how do I put this, um, well, I’m t-t-t-t-t-t-tu,” Yuri stuttered, trying to get out what he wanted to say but also hesitating to say it.

“Are you trying to say Tutu?” Victor asked. “Do you know about Tutu, Yuri?”

“Um, well, yes, I know about him,” Yuri replied. “He-"

“I want to see him Yuri,” Victor interrupted. “Whenever I see or think of Tutu, I am filled with the desire to see him. I want to figure out why I feel this way.”

Yuri was shocked. He hadn’t known that his alter ego had made such an impression on Victor. Yuri opened his mouth to reply, but suddenly a large gust of wind kicked up causing Yuri to have to cover his face. A large flock of crows came from seemingly nowhere and pushed Yuri to the ground. Then, Yuri heard the telltale sound of wings flapping.

“My prince,” Kraehe said as he floated to the ground. “I thought I told you to stay away from Tutu, why do you seek him out?”

As if he heard his name being spoken, Yuri’s pendant suddenly started to glow. Yuri scrambled to hide, and he transformed into Prince Tutu yet again.

“Please stop this!” Tutu called out to Kraehe from the steps of the gazebo. Kraehe turned and narrowed his eyes at Tutu, standing defensively in front of Victor.

“Prince Tutu, what an unwelcome surprise,” Kraehe said. “Do you always show up where you’re not invited?”

“Return the heart shard that you stole,” Tutu replied. “Stop making the prince suffer!”

“It is you alone who makes him suffer Tutu,” Kraehe snapped. Kraehe spun and lazily began to dance with the prince as he spoke. “I’m the real hero here, I’m protecting the prince from more pain than you’ve already caused him.”

“That’s not true!” Tutu countered.

“You keep trying to change the prince,” Kraehe continued, spinning around Victor. The more Kraehe danced with Victor, the more Victor seemed to be reverting to the person he once was. No feelings, or emotions. Just like a doll. “You’re the one trying to turn him into something he is not. I think he’s been just fine all this time. Why would try to change him Tutu? Do you not like him the way he is?”

“Stop Kraehe, you know that’s not what I’m doing!” Tutu exclaimed. “The prince asked me to-"

“I say we just feed the heart shards to the crows,” Kraehe said, holding aloft the heart shard he stole. Black crows started to swarm above where Kraehe held the shard.

“No!” Tutu yelled, leaping over to Kraehe and knocking the shard out of his hand onto the ground. Tutu leaped away from Kraehe and grabbed the shard, gripping it in his fist.

“You’ll pay for that!” Kraehe growled, letting go of Victor. Victor, as if all the strength had left his body, started to fall to the ground, but before he landed, a figure wearing a while full face mask and a dark brown cloak caught him. The stranger was holding a sword, with a handle made of swans.

“So,” the stranger said, slowly looking up at the black feather clad man. “You must be Kraehe. I can’t say it’s nice to meet you.”

“Who do you think you are, addressing me?” Kraehe said, manifesting a black feather into his hand.

“Are you the Raven manifest in this story?” the stranger said, gently placing Victor onto the ground. He swung the sword outward. “I’ll strike you down before you can try anything!” With that, the stranger rushed towards Kraehe with his sword.

“I won’t let anyone hurt the prince!” Kraehe exclaimed, leaping towards the masked man. As they passed, Kraehe’s sharp feather passed over the stranger’s mask and the sword ripped through part of Kraehe’s costume. This seemed to knock something lose in Kraehe’s mind.

“ _Who am I supposed to be?”_ Kraehe asked, then he disappeared into a cloud of feathers.

The stranger gripped the mask on his face and stood back in front of Victor. “Stay away from him Tutu!”

“Who are you?” Tutu asked. In answer, the stranger took his hand off his mask and half of the mask fell off, showing part of his face.

“Yurio?” Tutu said, his eyes widening in shock. “Why are you here?”

“I’ve come to undo the damage you’ve done Tutu,” Yurio spat, throwing the broken mask away. Behind him, Victor shook his head, as if waking up from a dream.

“Yurio? What are you doing here?” Victor asked drearily.

Yurio turned and knelt next to Victor. “You’re safe now. I’ll make things right. I’m going to shatter your heart once more.” Yurio lifted the sword over Victor, the tip of the sword pointing towards Victor’s chest. “You can’t stop me Tutu!”

“No!” Tutu shouted. He leapt towards Victor and magically summoned a hand fan, which he blocked the sword with.

“Victor is your friend; how could you do this horrible thing to him?” Tutu asked, his arms trembling as he kept the sword away from Victor’s chest.

“If you hadn’t shown up, none of this would have even happened!” Yurio said, lifting the sword and swinging it back down towards Tutu.

“Yuri stop!”

Yurio’s swing faltered at the sound of Victor shouting at him, and Tutu was able to use his distraction to knock the sword out of Yurio’s hand. The sword landed on the ground next to Victor’s foot. The prince shakily picked up the sword.

“This is all my fault isn’t it?” Victor asked, standing up. “Everyone is in so much pain because I decided to be selfish. If I shatter my heart once more, will that stop your pain Yurio?”

“Shatter your heart Victor,” Yurio replied. “Then you’ll go back to your old self!”

Victor took the sword and placed the hilt on the ground, the tip pointed towards his chest, but he hesitated before actually completing the deed.

“Victor no!” Tutu shouted. “You’d rather be without a heart?”

“Do it!” Yurio barked.

“Please, don’t do it Victor!” Tutu shouted. He tried to run towards Victor, but Yurio grabbed his arm and held Tutu back.

“Do it now!” Yurio yelled.

“The other day you smiled!” Tutu exclaimed, tugging against Yurio, trying to get free. Hot tears had started to gather in his eyes. “When I saw that, I felt as though I finally saw the real you. If you gain more of your heart, I believe that I’ll be able to see even more of your true self! So, please, don’t shatter your heart! Please!” Tutu sunk to his knees, tears falling from his eyes in defeat.

Suddenly, Tutu heard the sound of metal hitting the ground and he looked up through his watery eyes and saw Victor had dropped sword.

“I won’t do it Yurio,” Victor said softly. “I won’t shatter my heart again. I miss being able to feel, and to understand what others are feeling. I’m sorry.”

Yurio glared at Victor, then let go of Tutu. “I see. So this is what you’ve chosen. I won’t interfere then, even if I’m not sure it’s right.” Yurio turned quickly on his heel, and stalked off, leaving Tutu and Victor alone.

Tutu wiped the tears out of his eyes and stood up, going over to Victor. “I was able to get this heart shard away from Kraehe, would you like me to return in to you?” Victor nodded, and Tutu gently pressed the shard to Victor’s chest. It glowed as it sunk into his chest, Victor grimaced a bit as he received the shard.

“Tutu, thank you,” Victor said. He took Tutu’s hand and kissed the back of his hand. Tutu couldn’t help the blush that overtook his face.

“I wonder,” Victor said, looking up at Tutu. “What it is you think of me? Will you tell me?”

“I, um, I… I’m sorry!” Tutu said, taking his hand from Victor. He covered his face and ran away, his heart pounding loudly in his ears.

“Wait!” Victor yelled after Tutu. “Why are you running?”

…

It was becoming to common an event for Yuri to spend his night crying into his pillow. He clutched the pillow to his chest, unable to stop. Because he was not the one Victor cared about. He cared about Tutu in his beautiful ballet costume. He was only a piglet, and Victor would never fall in love with a piglet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here ends Chapter 8. Thank you all for sticking with this fic, even when I don't update for a month. Hopefully I'll have another chapter of this up soon. Thank you for all the kudos and comments, they make me motivated to continue this story.
> 
> This fic is not beta'd so if you find something wrong, let me know so I can fix it! 
> 
> As always, if you want to talk to me about yoi or princess tutu or anything, feel free to leave a comment or message me on my [ tumblr](http://cowlover2.tumblr.com)! (if you message me on tumblr be sure to tell me you came from the fic, otherwise I might just think you're a spambot, :\ )


	9. Black Shoes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chris feels like Victor is slipping further and further away from him. Yurio is not sure what his role in the story is anymore. Yuri meets an art student who seems to have an obsession with a certain dancer...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys!
> 
> I hope you enjoy this new chapter! It's been a long time in the works. I started an internship which means my free time is limited so finding time to write this is harder. I'm not abandoning the fic though because I love it so much. Just if it doesnt update very regularly that's why.

_Once upon a time, there was a girl who loved to dance very much._

_The girl made the mistake of putting on a pair of red shoes that, once put on, forced her to dance for eternity. The girl continued to dance day and night._

_Wait… this is a different story. Although, perhaps it’s not so completely different after all._

_…_

The next day, Yuri found that life was still normal. Victor was still a prince, Yuri was still a pig, and he still had ballet practice to go to. So even though he was still feeling dismal over his unreturned feelings towards Victor, he trudged on, trying to act as normal as possible. Which was hard because Phichit seemed determined to poke at all his weak spots.

“You should just ask him out,” Phichit said. The two were hanging out in the main practice room before class officially started. They were all in some degree of warming up. Phichit had caught Yuri staring at Victor and Chris as they practiced a duet for the special class. They were such beautiful dancers, Yuri couldn’t help but feel jealous.

“What‽” Yuri yelled, but then felt his cheeks grow warm as he realized how loud he had been. “Phichit are you insane? I can’t do that.”

“Why not?” Phichit replied.

“Because, he’s Victor, and I’m just… me,” Yuri replied, fidgeting with the edge of his shirt. He couldn’t really come out and say that he was actually a piglet and if did any confessing to Victor he would turn into a speck of light and vanish, but his answer was still true. Even though he felt like Victor and he were becoming friends, he still almost felt inferior to Victor. Especially now that Victor was getting his heart back. His already technically perfect dancing was becoming more emotional and beautiful and Yuri still found himself in awe of the boy.

“Yuri, I will fight you,” Phichit said. “You’re like the greatest person I know. If anything, _Victor_ should be the one nervous about dating you because you are _perfect_.”

“I’m not perfect,” Yuri mumbled.

“You hush your mouth,” Phichit said, hugging Yuri close to him. “You’re perfect to me.”

“Alright Phichit,” Yuri laughed.

As Victor and Chris slowly ran through the movements of their duet, Victor suddenly said “I wonder how I feel about you Chris.”

“What?” Chris exclaimed, suddenly freezing in his dance. “What do you even mean by that?”

Victor dropped his arms from a position he was in and turned towards Chris. “I mean that, I just don’t understand how I feel about you.”

Chris blinked in silence, then chuckled to try and lighten the mood. “We’re friends. You like me.”

“No, not like that, I mean,” Victor said, trying to piece together his thoughts. Chris had never seen Victor in a mood quite like this. The heart shards were altering his personality in a way that Chris didn’t understand.

“I mean that I just don’t understand how I feel about people,” Victor explained. “Every person I meet I have different emotions about. You, Yurio, Yuri, Tutu-"

“Oh god, not Tutu again,” Chris groaned. “They’re bad news, you should stay away from him.”

“No,” Victor protested. “I need to find out what this feeling is, and I feel like Tutu is the only one who can explain it to me.”

“Well if Tutu is your new best friend, why don’t you just do this duet with him,” Chris spat, then marched out of the practice room, leaving Victor feeling very confused.

“Whoa, drama alert,” Phichit muttered to Yuri.

“Should I go talk to Chris?” Yuri murmured back. Phichit just shrugged in response. Yuri stood up and walked over to Victor.

“Are you okay?” Yuri asked.

“I’m… not sure what I did,” Victor responded. “Should I follow him?”

“I think that would make things worse right now,” Yuri answered. “I’ll go talk to Chris.”

“Okay,” Victor said, nodding his head. Yuri walked out of the practice room to see if he could find Chris.

He ended up finding Chris curled in a fetal position on top of a bench in the middle of the locker room. Chris’s face was buried in his lap and Yuri couldn’t see it, but small sniffles were coming from the boy and his shoulders were shaking slightly. Yuri quietly went and sat next to Chris.

“I’m here if you want to talk,” Yuri said softly. Chris hiccupped and looked up at Yuri. His cheeks were tearstained and flushed. His eyes were red.

“Oh, Y-Yuri, it’s f-fine, I’m just being s-stupid,” Chris fumbled, trying to wipe the tears off his face.

“Your feelings aren’t stupid Chris,” Yuri replied. Chris’s eyes widened as he looked at Yuri, and it was if Yuri had something revolutionary to Chris. As if no one had told Chris that he was valid and important. And Chris’s resolve broke and tears spilled over his lashes.

“Yuri I d-don’t k-know what t-to d-do,” Chris sobbed, dropping his head in his hands, muffling his voice. “V-Victor’s c-changing so f-fast a-and I can’t f-follow him. Everything w-was so s-simple and n-now I just f-feel like I’m being l-left behind.”

“I’m sure Victor isn’t leaving you behind,” Yuri said softly, gently placing a hand on the back of Chris’s head. “Or at least, he doesn’t feel like he is.”

“His feelings are the p-problem!” Chris exclaimed, jolting up. “He’s questioning e-everything. He a-asked if w-we were even f-friends earlier. H-how could he e-even do that?”

“Victor doesn’t know what’s wrong with asking that,” Yuri said. “It’s horrible, but it’s the truth. He cares about you Chris, he just doesn’t understand what that feeling is yet.”

“I know, but,” Chris said, hesitating. “At least w-when he didn’t h-have feelings he didn’t ask such c-cruel things.”

Yuri didn’t know how to comfort Chris, so he just patted Chris gently on the back. “Everything will work itself out. It may seem bleak now, but, it’ll be okay.”

Chris laughed and rubbed his face on his arm. “Thanks Yuri. You’re a good friend.”

Yuri wondered about that. Chris seemed to really dislike Tutu, but Yuri was Tutu. If Chris new the truth, Yuri didn’t know what would happen. But for right now, Yuri would be here for Chris, because that’s what friends were for.

…

Yurio sat in the library, skipping his morning practice. He knew it was wrong to skip practice, but ever since Victor had told him that for sure he wanted his heart restored, Yuri wasn’t quite sure what to do. His place was always next to Victor, it was to protect him. But now, he wasn’t sure if he was needed anymore.

An annoying thing had started happening to him. When he was alone, he would begin to tremble, as if he was afraid. And he wasn’t afraid… well, maybe he was.

In his hands was a book that he had read hundreds of times over the course of his life. _The Prince and the Raven_ by Yakov Feltsman. Yakov was a very famous author who had written dozens of books in his life, and _The Prince and the Raven_ was the last book he had written before he died. Except he didn’t finish the book. This was the book that Victor and the Raven had escaped from. And it was this book that contained his fate.

His fingers trembled as he got to the page of the story that he always dreaded. Taking a breath, he flipped the page and let his eyes fall on the image there.

The image was of a knight who had bravely served and protected the prince in the story. However, in a climactic battle against the Raven, the knight had been sliced in two by the Raven’s talon, and he had died. Yuri subconsciously pressed his hand against the right side of his chest.

“This won’t be your fate,” Yuri murmured, almost trying to convince himself. He slammed the book shut. “That old man doesn’t control me. I’ll help Victor and I’ll live.” With that, he stormed out of the library, slamming the big wooden door as he stomped out.

…

Chris sat curled up on his bed, one foot dangling off the side. He was grateful to Celestino for giving him the day off, as he didn’t think he could face Victor right now, but on the other hand it gave him too much time to be stuck in his head. His thoughts kept swirling over and over. Who was he? Who was he to Victor? How could he keep Victor from leaving him behind? How could he stop Tutu from hurting Victor? Chris sighed. He could keep thinking these thoughts over and over, but he would never get any different answers from himself.

Maybe he could talk to Yuri. Chris’s friendship with Yuri seemed to be the only thing keeping Chris from falling completely apart it seemed. He hadn’t had many friends in his life, and he was grateful for Yuri, Maybe Yuri could help answer all of his burning questions. However, Chris would have to tell Yuri everything, and he wasn’t sure he could do that.

Chris was suddenly startled by a loud tap at his window. He stood up warily and walked over to the location of the noise. Pulling back the curtain, he saw two let black crows sitting on his windowsill. Initially Chris recoiled back, almost in fear of the birds. However, as the birds kept tapping, Chris, in almost a trance, opened up the window and the two birds hopped into the room, transforming into two beautiful black ballet slippers. Chris, still entranced, stepped into each of the shoes, which quickly ensnared his feet. Like vines covered in thorns the ribbons of the shoes covered his body, wracking Chris in pain until suddenly the pain stopped, and Chris was no more.

“Well well Prince Tutu,” Kraehe muttered to himself. “Seems like you’ve found yourself another heart shard. We can’t have that now can we?” With a smirk Kraehe twirled, whipping up the winds around him and he flew out the window, to where he knew Tutu was waiting.

…

Yuri wiped the classroom window, listening to it squeak as he rubbed them clean. The rest of the day had been pretty uneventful. Ciao Ciao had come into the locker room and saw Chris having a crisis so the teacher had given Chris the day off. Yurio hadn’t shown up to practice either, so Phichit and Victor were the only ones in practice for the special class. At lunch, Phichit had relayed what had happened in practice.

“It was so weird,” Phichit said. “Like, I would say Victor and I are friends, but we don’t really spend time together unless I’m hanging out with Chris. You know me, I can pretty much make friends with anyone, but talking to Victor sometimes is like talking to a brick wall. He gets so focused that he blocks everything else out.”

Yuri finished cleaning the windows and grabbed all his stuff from the classroom to head back to his dorm. As he walked out of the dance building, he saw a boy sitting on a bench in front of the dance building with a large sketchbook. The boy seemed tall, with long arms and legs. He had shaggy light brown hair that stuck up around his face and lightly bobbed as the boy moved his head. Without thinking, Yuri wandered over to the artist. As he got closer the boy looked up and smiled brightly at Yuri.

“Hello there!” the boy said, waving at Yuri. “You’re a ballet student, right?”

“Um, yes,” Yuri replied. “How did you know?”

“I just saw you come out of the building,” the artist smiled, chuckling a bit. “But I’ve also seen you perform once. You were very good!”

“Oh, um, thank you,” Yuri said, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck. “What’s your name?”

“I’m Emil Nekola!” the boy said, smiling wide at Yuri. “I’m a student in the art division.”

 “Nice to meet you,” Yuri replied. “So, what are you drawing?”

“Oh, well, sometimes I like to draw the ballet students,” the boy said. “Lately I’ve been drawing pictures of Christophe Giacometti from the special class. Do you know him?”

“Yeah, we’re actually friends,” Yuri replied.

“Really? That’s awesome, he’s an amazing dancer,” Emil replied. “If you’re interested, I could show you some of my paintings that I’ve been working on.”

“Oh, sure!” Yuri answered. “Like, now?”

“Why not? No time like the present,” Emil said. Emil quickly gathered up his art supplies and then led Yuri to the art building. Yuri had actually never been in the art building before. From the outside the building was plain brown brick that matched the rest of the school, but on the inside it was almost a different world. The hallways were covered in different paintings and drawings and as Emil led Yuri through the corridors he could see different classrooms filled with more paintings and sculptures and all sorts of art.

Emil finally came to the end of the hallway and opened a door. “This is my workspace! I share it with a few other students, but they have all probably gone home by now.”

Yuri followed Emil into the workroom and his mouth fell agape. The workroom was split into four sections, one per student Yuri guessed. Emil’s workspace was set in one corner of the room and it was covered in drawings and paintings. The space seemed like controlled chaos. All of the art was pristine and beautiful while the areas around them were kind of messy. The floor was covered with a paint spattered cloth. Jars were filled with water of all different colors after Emil had apparently washed them off. Art supplies were scattered all around. But Yuri almost didn’t notice because the art Emil made was beautiful… however, as Yuri looked, it was apparent that all of the art was of Chris. There were sketches and paintings all over the workspace, and they were all of Chris.

“You really like to draw Chris,” Yuri stated. “He’s a beautiful dancer so I can see why he’d make a good subject.”

Emil’s happy demeanor seemed to instantly vanish. He gripped the front of his shirt. “I… I can’t really explain it myself,” Emil said, looking almost in pain as he laid eyes upon his artwork. “I usually like to draw other things, like landscapes, or still life’s. Recently though, every time I try to draw something besides Chris it hurts me. I don’t know what to do.”

As if on cue, the pendant around Yuri’s neck glowed bright red. Yuri backed quickly into the hallway, and soon he was transformed into Prince Tutu. Tutu flitted into the workspace and beckoned to Emil.

“Please Emil, come dance with me,” Tutu requested.

Emil looked up at Tutu in shock. “W-who are you?”

“I am Prince Tutu,” he explained with a bow.

“Prince Tutu,” Emil breathed. He shook his head. “I can’t dance with you, I’m an artist not a dancer.”

“You don’t need to be a dancer to dance,” Tutu said, smiling softly. He gently took one of Emil’s hands. “Please dance with me.”

Soon, Tutu and Emil danced around the workroom. Emil’s dancing was somewhat stiff, but it was very refined.

“The source of your pain is the false heart residing within your own heart,” Tutu explained while dancing with the boy. “I’ll remove the false heart for you.”

As they danced, Emil began to glow with a faint red light, and Tutu was soon able to coax the lost heart shard out of Emil. Emil collapsed, and Tutu rushed over to catch him.

“Thank you, Prince Tutu,” Emil said, falling unconscious with a small smile on his face. Tutu gently laid Emil on the ground, and turned to the puzzled heart shard staring at him.

“What feeling might you be?” Tutu asked.

“I am the feeling of devotion, shattered and forgotten,” the heart shard replied.

“This heart is not where you belong,” Tutu said. “I’ll take you to where you can rest.”

The heart shard smiled, almost in relief. “Thank you, Tutu,” However, as the shard stepped towards Tutu, black thorny vines sprung up from the floor and wrapped themselves tightly around the shard. Soon Tutu heard the telltale sound of wings flapping, and Kraehe arrived on the scene.

“So, the feeling of devotion is it?” Kraehe said as he landed softly on the ground. “The prince doesn’t have much use for that now does he?”

“Kraehe, stop it!” Tutu exclaimed. “The prince himself wants these shards back, why are you trying to keep them from him?”

“Because the prince doesn’t know what’s good for him,” Kraehe snapped. “I will protect him no matter the cost.”

“What are you protecting him from?” Tutu asked. “How could keeping his emotions from him protect him at all?”

“Tutu?”

Tutu whipped his head around at the soft sound of his name and saw Victor standing in the entryway of the workroom.

“My prince!” Tutu said. “How did you find us?”

“There are black crows surrounding the top of the building,” Victor replied, stepping closer to Tutu. “Really, I was just curious to see what was happening, but then I heard your voices…” Victor trailed off as he saw his heart shard trapped in black vines. “Kraehe, let it go.”

Kraehe’s eyes widened. The look in the prince’s eyes… he had never seen the prince look at anyone that way. There was such resolve. Kraehe stumbled backwards in his shock, releasing the heart shard which floated into Tutu’s hands.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Kraehe gasped, as if the air had been knocked from his lungs. “Why… do you keep looking at me like that?” Kraehe sunk to his knees as tears dripped down his face.

Tutu returned the shard of devotion to Victor, then slowly walked closer to Kraehe. “Kraehe, what’s wrong?”

“Stay away from me!” Kraehe yelled.

“Kraehe I just want to help,” Tutu said softly. “If there’s anything I can do, I want to help.”

“Who… is Kraehe?” the boy whispered, standing shakily on his feet. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw something move, and he looked and saw himself reflected in a mirror that one of the art students must have been using. And it was as if something shifted inside him. Seeing himself as a figure clad in black and crow’s feathers, he finally understood who he truly was. Chris and Kraehe finally became one person.

“I’m a crow,” Kraehe said, more to himself than to Tutu. He spun around towards Tutu, who quickly stood defensively in front of Victor. “I’m the true prince of this story, Tutu. I’ll protect the prince from you, no matter what!” With that, wind kicked up around him and Kraehe disappeared, leaving Tutu and Victor alone.

Tutu turned towards Victor. “Are you alright, my prince?”

Victor nodded. “You disappeared, I’ve been trying to find you.”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Tutu replied.

“I’m sorry if I startled you the last time we spoke,” Victor said. “With all these new feeling inside of me, I’ve been told that I’m not asking good questions. So you don’t have to answer the things I ask if you do not wish to.”

Tutu smiled. “There are just some things that I cannot answer, even though I wish I could. I hope you understand.”

“I can’t say I do, as I don’t understand a lot right now,” Victor replied. “However, I’ll respect your wishes. Will I see you again soon Tutu?”

Tutu smiled, and bowed. “I truly hope so, my prince."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yurio was totally supposed to show up in that showdown between Tutu and Kraehe but it just felt too random to squeeze him in there so I left him out. Sorry all Yurio fans, I promise he's gonna be in the next chapter alot!
> 
> That's the end of chapter 9! Hopefully it won't be too long a wait until the next chapter. Thank you all for sticking with this fic and leaving your comments and kudos, they really make my day.
> 
> This fic is not beta'd so if you find something wrong, let me know so I can fix it! 
> 
> As always, if you want to talk to me about yoi or princess tutu or anything, feel free to leave a comment or message me on my [ tumblr](http://cowlover2.tumblr.com)! (if you message me on tumblr be sure to tell me you came from the fic, otherwise I might just think you're a spambot, :\ )


	10. Cinderella

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Trouble is brewing! Yuri has somehow lost his pendant and is stuck as a piglet. Victor has been kidnapped by Kraehe. Yurio is still trying his best to figure out how to help Victor...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well hello there!
> 
> I hope you like this new chapter, sorry again for the long wait. The good news is, I have the rest of this half of the first "arc" planned out, I just have to write it. Bad news, I'm still pretty busy with my internship, but I will try to get new chapters out to ya'll as soon as I can.
> 
> Also I may have slow burned Victuuri just a little too much... because that Victuuri goodness is coming in like 3 chapters... well that train is pulling into the station whether we're ready or not so be prepared!

_Once upon a time, there was a maiden,_

_The maiden wore tattered clothes and was called Cinderella. But with the help of some magic, she became a beautiful princess and got to dance with the prince. Then, at the stroke of midnight, the maiden ran away, leaving a glass slipper, and she returned to being Cinderella again. The prince went to great lengths to find this maiden, which he did, and took her as his wife. Yet, a thorny question arises. Did the prince really fall in love with the maiden?_

_…_

After making sure Emil was safe, Tutu and Victor made their way out of the art building. Tutu was surprised when as they walked out, Victor gently grabbed his hand without a word. Tutu felt a slight blush creep over his face, but when he looked at Victor, he saw nothing. It was if holding hands made perfect sense to Victor, like it wasn’t a big deal. So Tutu smiled to himself and hoped that Victor couldn’t feel his heart beating a tad bit faster.

Their soft moment was broken when they came out of the art building, a loud voice shouted at him.

“Tutu stay away from him!”

Tutu jumped in surprise, letting go of Victor’s hand. Charging at him was Yurio, and Tutu could tell he was angry.

“Was Kraehe here?” Yurio shouted, stopping in front of the two.

“H-he was,” Tutu stammered, unsure of what he had done to incur Yurio’s wrath.  

“And you just let him go?” Yurio yelled.

“It wasn’t his fault Yurio,” Victor interjected. “Kraehe just disappeared into a cloud of black feathers, there wasn’t anything to be done.”

“You had Kraehe right in front of you!” Yurio snapped. “You had your chance to end this and to stop Kraehe from causing problems. You should have taken this opportunity! If I had been here, we wouldn’t be discussing this!”

“I can’t hurt Kraehe,” Tutu replied. “Not when I feel I can help him.”

Suddenly Yurio lashed out at Tutu with a knife, which Tutu narrowly dodged. “You should be thinking about Victor! You want to help him, right? Then you should be willing to do anything! You’re weak Tutu!”

Victor grabbed Yurio’s arms, pulling him away from Tutu. “Tutu, run!”

Tutu, unsure of what to do, ran from the scene. However, he didn’t notice, that he had managed to leave something very important behind.

…

“ _Why?”_ Yuri thought, looking at his reflection in the fountain in front of the boys dorm. “ _Why did I turn into a piglet?”_

Shortly after leaving Victor and Yurio, Yuri had suddenly transformed from Tutu, into his piglet self. It was a complete mystery as to why, until Yuri noticed something was missing.

“ _My pendant!”_ Yuri thought, noticing the red jewel was not hanging around his neck. “ _How could I have lost it?”_ He hopped down from the fountain and began to snort around, looking for it. Without the necklace, not only could he not turn into Tutu, but he also couldn’t turn back into his human self!

Yuri searched everywhere he could think of, from the art building to the ballet building, even into town, but he couldn’t find the necklace.

“ _What am I going to do?”_

_…_

Up in his dorm room, Yuri looked at the pendant in his hand. There was no mistaking it. Even though it usually looked a bit different, the red jewel definitely belonged to Prince Tutu. Yuri had accidently cut it off Tutu’s neck when he had slashed at him. Once Tutu realized it was missing, Yuri was sure he would come looking for it.

“Come and take it Tutu,” Yuri murmured to himself.

…

Yuri walked to class the next day, scowling at the pendant he was wearing around his neck. Tutu still hadn’t come for it, which surprised him. It didn’t matter. He’d come at some point.

Yuri was surprised to see a small piglet lying in the sun in the front of the ballet building. There weren’t any farms around Gold Crown Town, so seeing a piglet was different. He went up to the little piglet and poked it gently.

“Hey little guy,” Yurio said as the piglet blinked its eyes open. “This isn’t a very good place to sleep. You might get stepped on.”

Yuri blinked his eyes then snorted in surprise when he saw Yurio standing over him. It seemed his automatic response was to be intimidated by the younger boy.

“I’m not going to hurt you,” Yurio said, holding out his hand for Yuri to sniff. “You’re okay. Where’d you come from?”

Yuri snuffled. It was strange that Yurio was being so nice to him. Of course, Yurio didn’t know that he was in fact Yuri. If he did know, this conversation probably wouldn’t be so pleasant.

Suddenly, Yuri noticed a glint of light coming from Yurio’s neck.

“ _My pendant!”_ Yuri thought in excitement. He wasn’t sure how Yurio had acquired the jewel, but he needed to grab it back. Yuri squealed and then leapt at Yurio, tugging on the chain of the necklace.

“Do you like shiny things?” Yurio asked, laughing. He gently grabbed Yuri and placed him on the ground. “Sorry, but I can’t let you have this.”

“ _But it’s mine,”_ Yuri thought grumpily to himself.

Yurio rummaged through his bag, then pulled out an apple. He placed it in front of Yuri. “You can have this if you want it. I’m sure I can get another from the cafeteria.”

Yuri sniffed the apple, then took a bite out of it. He hadn’t realized how hungry he had been. He hadn’t eaten dinner last night or breakfast this morning.

Yurio laughed watching Yuri munch on the apple, then looked up as he heard the clocktower ring. “Well, that’s my cue, I have to go. Take care little piglet.”

Yuri watched as Yurio walked away. He had to grab that pendant, but he didn’t know how he was going to do that.

…

“Victor, may I talk to you for a moment?”

Victor looked up from where he was stretching on the ground to see Celestino hovering over him.

“Yes, sir?” Victor asked, standing up.

“I just wanted to compliment you on your dancing these past few days,” Celestino replied. “You’ve always been a perfectionist technique-wise, but I’ve always felt your dances lacked emotion. However, lately it seems your dancing has evolved and is entirely filled with passion.”

“Really?” Victor asked. That was exciting. Lately he was feeling like his emotions were controlling him, but the way Celestino was talking it was as if he was taking control of his emotions to put them into his dance.

“Yes, it’s been quite magnificent to observe,” Celestino mused. “It’s almost as if you’ve fallen in love.”

Victor could swear he felt his unfinished heart thump hard in his chest. “Love?” Victor didn’t have that emotion yet, and he had no memory of what love was like. So the concept of love still alluded him. The feelings of wanting to see Prince Tutu, were they love?

…

Later that day, Yuri was able to sneakily follow Yurio back to his dorm, trying to figure out a way to grab the necklace back. However, as soon as Yurio has made it back to his room, he had stepped into the shower, still wearing the pendant. So Yuri was hiding under a table, waiting for Yurio to come back out.

When Yurio stepped out of the bathroom, Yuri was shocked to see a large light pink mark stretching from his right shoulder down to his left hip. At first Yuri thought it was an injury, but the more he looked at it, it seemed less like a scar and more like a birthmark. It had a strange shape though, as if it was cutting Yurio’s body in half.

Yuri stayed as quiet as he could when Yurio sat down in a chair next to the table he was hiding under. Yurio was looking thoughtfully at Tutu’s pendant, which he still wore around his neck.

“Victor… you really don’t know anything. About restoring your heart and what that entails.”

A loud tapping noise came from the window, and Yurio looked over and saw a large black crow sitting outside, carrying an envelope in its mouth. He rushed over and threw the window open, snatching the note from the bird. It flew away cawing loudly.

Yuri could see Yurio’s eyes frantically scanning the note, then he cursed under his breath. Throwing the letter on the ground, Yurio quickly grabbed a shirt from his dresser and ran out the door. Before following, Yuri ran over to read the note that the crow had delivered.

_“To the pitiful knight,_

_I’m afraid you’ve seen the last of the prince. I’m hiding him away, to keep him safe from the point of your sword. To keep him safe from Prince Tutu’s meddling._

_Farewell,_

_Prince Kraehe”_

Yuri squealed. Victor had been taken by Kraehe? Well, at least the one good thing about that was that Kraehe wouldn’t dare hurt Victor. Yuri quickly ran out of the dorm, trying to catch up with Yurio.

Yuri followed Yurio to what looked to be a blacksmith’s shop close to the edge of town. The building was made of stone, and a pale glow shone through several windows. Yuri slipped through the door as Yurio violently threw it open. He found himself surrounded by different types of metal work. From farming equipment, to swords and shields, the shop was cluttered with many shelves of goods. The main shop wasn’t very big, but it looked as though there was another room in through a door in the back.

“Grandpa!” Yurio yelled. “Are you here?”

“Is that my Yura?” a voice called from somewhere in the shop. Yurio ran to the door at the back of the shop, Yuri trying to follow sneakily behind.

“Grandpa, I need the sword!” Yurio shouted, opening the door. “I need the knight’s sword!”

An elderly man appeared, wiping his hands on a cloth. His skin was weathered, and he had many wrinkles around his eyes and mouth. His hair was a spattering of black and grey, and he had a mustache to match. A black flat cap adorned his head, and he wore a dirty apron over his clothes.

“What do you mean you need the knight’s sword Yura?” his grandfather asked. “You don’t need a sword.”

“You told me I’m the prince’s knight, right?” Yurio asked. “All those times you read me The Prince and the Raven after my parents died, every time you told me I was the knight reincarnated.”

“Yura, it’s just a story,” his grandfather replied.

“It’s not though! Victor is proof of that,” Yurio argued. “I was the one who found him all those years ago after he had escaped the story and shattered his heart. I gave him the name Victor. And after Victor got hurt doing so many selfless things, I promised him I would protect him! He’s in danger now, I need the sword to help save him!”

His grandfather sat down on a stool before answering. “Yura… are you sure what you’re doing is for Vitya?”

“What are you saying?” Yurio replied.

“Are you sure you’re not just running from your fate?” his grandpa continued. “You’ve spent your whole life calling Victor a good for nothing. You enrolled him in the academy to keep him distracted. You’re too afraid to admit that you’re scared!”

Yurio backed away from his grandfather, as if he had been slapped in the face. Instead of answering, Yurio grabbed a small sword from a nearby shelf. “I don’t need the knight’s sword. I can protect Victor with anything!” With that he ran out of the shop, his grandfather calling behind him.

As Yuri followed Yurio out of the shop, he could see the faint glow of the pendant from under Yurio’s shirt. His grandfather must have a heart shard.

Yuri followed Yurio to a nearby park. He finally found Yurio huddled under a tree. As Yuri slowly walked up to Yurio, he could see Yurio’s shoulders shaking slightly.

“ _He’s… crying?”_ Yuri wondered. Yuri slowly went up and placed his head on Yurio’s leg. Yurio looked up, his face red and wet with tears.

“Oh, it’s you,” Yurio said. “You’ve caught me at a bad moment little guy.”

Yuri snorted, wishing that he could comfort Yurio somehow. Yurio picked Yuri up and hugged Yuri to his chest. Yuri realized something. Yurio didn’t always show it, but he cared for Victor. Probably more that Yuri did.

[ ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/158968595@N05/41136525061/in/dateposted/)

Yurio sniffed and put Yuri down, wiping his face. Then, surprisingly, He tugged the necklace off of his neck and placed it in front of Yuri.

“You can have this, I know you wanted it,” Yuri explained. “I guess it’s not that important to Tutu if he hasn’t come to claim it yet.”

Yuri snorted excitedly, then grabbed it in his mouth, running off before Yurio could change his mind. Yuri had a heart shard to grab!

…

“Mr. Plisetsky?”

Yurio’s grandfather looked up, then jumped up in surprise. “Prince Tutu! Is it really you?”

Tutu, nodded, beckoning to the man. “Will you please dance with me?”

Slowly, Prince Tutu began to dance with Yurio’s grandfather, and he began to tell Tutu his woes.

“I don’t know what I should do,” he began. “I’ve always regretted telling Yura the legend. Now I regret hurting him now. It seems all I can do these days is regret what I have done.”

“You should have faith in Yuri,” Tutu replied. “If Yuri goes down the path of his heart’s conviction, I believe he will not be filled with regrets, no matter the outcome. You just have to believe in him.”

His grandfather sighed and bent down on one knee, and the shard of Victor’s heart emerged from him.

“I am the feeling of regret,” the shard said.

“This heart is not where you belong,” Tutu said, outstretching his hands. “I will take you home.”

The shard smiled. “Thank you.”

Tutu released the shard, then quickly followed it to learn where Victor was being kept. He finally arrived at a huge church, with tall gothic towers and stained-glass windows. Around the steeple of the church, a huge mass of crows had gathered, and their caws were the only thing to be heard.

“Tutu!”

Tutu turned and saw Yurio rushing towards him. “I saw the crows, is Victor in there?”

Tutu nodded. “This is where a heart shard led me, so he must be here.”

The two ran up to the church door and Yurio kicked them open roughly. The church was dimly lit, but at the back, near the altar, Victor was lying on the ground, unconscious, surrounded by warriors with the faces of crows.

“My prince!” Tutu shouted, running down the isle of the church. Victor stirred, drearily looking up.

“Tu…tu,” Victor murmured. “Run.”

Before Tutu could comprehend Victor’s warning, dark black vines erupted from the earth and tangled themselves around Tutu, trapping him in a thorny net. A dark laugh echoed around the group, and a fierce wind swept through the church. And then Kraehe was there.

“Well well, I knew Tutu would find the prince eventually, but I never thought the useless knight would come with him,” Kraehe mused. Kraehe walked towards Victor, his crow warriors parting to let him through. Kraehe knelt next to Victor, and gently pulled the prince to his feet. “It must be my lucky day, I get to eliminate two birds with one stone.”

“You filthy crow, I’ll kill you!” Yurio shouted, running with his sword towards the black prince. However, as Yurio raised his sword above his head to attack, Kraehe quickly moved Victor in front of his body like a shield. Yurio quickly turned his body to avoid hitting the prince.

“You coward, if you’re so keen on protecting him how could you do that?” Yurio spat, his voice filled with malice.

“This protects the both of us, don’t you see?” Kraehe replied. “You wouldn’t dare attack the prince, so now you can’t attack me.”

“Kraehe,” Victor murmered. “Why are you doing this? Why must you hurt Tutu, and Yurio? Why are you so against me regaining my heart?”

Kraehe’s eyes widened and he looked into Victor’s eyes. Reflected in the prince’s eyes, he hated what he saw. He hated what he had become, who he was. He hated how Victor looked at him, like he was the problem. Like he wasn’t needed.

“What’s wrong Kraehe,” Victor asked softly. “Why are you in such pain?”

Kraehe quickly let go of Victor as if the prince’s flesh were suddenly made of fire. He shook his head. “Stop it. Stop looking at me like that!”

Suddenly, the strong wind kicked up again, and in a matter of moments, Kraehe had disappeared again, bringing his warriors with him. The black vines that ensnared Tutu slowly melted away, freeing him. Victor felt to his knees, unable to keep himself standing.

“Victor!” Yurio yelled, kneeling next to him. “You’re going to be okay.” Yurio looked back at Tutu, holding his sword in front of him. “Get out of here Tutu! Unless you want to settle things now!”

Tutu shook his head. “I have no desire to fight you.” Tutu bowed, then gracefully flitted out of the church.

…

As soon as he left the church, Tutu transformed back into Yuri, and then began running back to the boys dorm. He had to make it back before Victor and Yurio caught up to him. However, because Yuri had the best luck, as he ran past the church gates he tripped and fell, causing his glasses to slide off his face.

“Owww,” Yuri groaned, rubbing his hands together where he had fell of them. He squinted his eyes, then picked up his fallen spectacles. As he shakily got up, he heard a voice yelling at him.

“Oi pig! What are you doing here?”

Yuri froze, then turned and saw Yurio and Victor walking his way. Victor was leaning heavily on Yuri, as if it was hard to keep upright.

“I, uh,” Yuri stammered, nervously wiping his hands on his pants. “I couldn’t sleep, so I was just walking around. It’s getting kind of late now though, so I was heading back to the dorm.”

Yurio squinted at Yuri suspiciously, then his eyes widened in shock as he noticed something that he probably should have seen before. There, around the pig’s neck, was a necklace with a bright red gem. It looked like… Tutu’s gem.

“Hey pig, that necklace…” Yurio started to ask.

Yuri stiffened. “Um, well, I’m going to go. See you in class tomorrow!” Yuri bolted off towards the dormitory, panic starting to cloud his brain.

Could it be that… Yurio knew his secret?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's the end of chapter 10! Hopefully it won't be too long a wait until the next chapter. Thank you all for sticking with this fic and leaving your comments and kudos, they really make my day.
> 
> The art in this chapter was done by me, please don't repost it!
> 
> This fic is not beta'd so if you find something wrong, let me know so I can fix it! 
> 
> As always, if you want to talk to me about yoi or princess tutu or anything, feel free to leave a comment or message me on my [ tumblr](http://cowlover2.tumblr.com)! (if you message me on tumblr be sure to tell me you came from the fic, otherwise I might just think you're a spambot, :\ )


	11. La Sylphide

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Victor, struggling with his new feelings, and his inability to understand love, decides he is going to give Tutu a gift. Yurio confronts Yuri about his suspicions about Tutu.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey ya'll! As I do every chapter, I apologize for the long wait. I hope you like the new chapter! Things are starting to intensify as we're getting to the end of this first arc of the story.

_“Once upon a time, there was a maiden with wings of freedom._

_A man in love with the maiden thought ‘If I could just bind this maiden’s wings, we would never have to be apart, even for a moment.’ But when the man wrapped the maiden’s wings in a magical shawl, the wings immediately fell to the ground, and the maiden died. The man did not know that the maiden’s wings were the source of her life.”_

…

This place was strange. A world composed of clockwork and gears, the man who lived here was able to watch time go by, even though he himself was outside of time. For his time had run out long ago, and it was only in this place that he was able to continue on, manipulating the story in whatever way he saw fit.

**_“Finally all the characters have been assembled. A prince without a heart, a knight who fears death, a villain without resolve, and a protagonist who cannot confess their love. However… something is missing.”_ **

A figure waves to the man who controls the story. She herself has been in the story many times, to help push the characters in the right directions. It seems as though now would once again be a good time for her to interfere.

**_“Alright then, go along. But don’t get so wrapped up in everyone’s emotions again!”_ **

…

Minako stood on a bridge, playing her music and selling some gems to the people of Gold Crown Town. It was a gloomy day in the village, a thick fog floating over the river, the sky threatening to release a storm upon the towns inhabitants.

A woman walked up to Minako. She was wearing a shawl, so her face was obscured, but her actions seemed nervous, as if she was unsure of what she was doing.

“How can I help you miss?” Minako asked, the bridge falling silent as she stopped playing her music.

“Please, can you take this?” the woman asked, gently holding out something to Minako. Minako took what the woman was holding and found it was a beautiful orange gemstone, that was inset into a golden wire casing that looked like vines wrapping around the gem. The gem seemed to glow from the inside, as if to spite the gloom settled upon he town.

“This is a beautiful piece,” Minako said. “What is it called?”

“The name of this gem, is Love,” the woman replied.

Minako furrowed her brows. “I would advise you to hold on to this gem. It’s quite special.”

The woman shook her head. “No, this gem is not the right one for me. I’m sure it will be much more suited for someone else.”

Minako hummed. “If you insist, I shall gladly accept it.” Minako gently placed the gem inside of her box, where it would be ready to find someone new to own it.

“Thank you,” the woman replied, then she hurried briskly away, quickly engulfed by the fog.

…

Yurio danced alone, the only sound the sound of his footsteps against the wood of the floor. He still had no proof, only his intuition, but he was sure. The more he thought about it, the more it made sense. The other Yuri, that _pig_ had to be Prince Tutu. That must be why he knew so much about Victor, why he kept getting in the way.

Sweat dripped down Yurio’s face, and he paused his dance, breathing heavily. This changed nothing. He would still do everything in his power to protect Victor, and Tutu… no matter who he was, Yurio would still make sure that no harm would come to the prince.

…

Yuri’s stomach had been in a knot all morning. Yurio knew, Yurio must have found out he was Tutu, maybe even puzzled together that he was just a piglet. He had no idea what this meant. How would Yurio react, would he tell everyone else? Yuri half wanted to face Yurio to get the inevitable conversation over with, but he also wanted to avoid Yurio for the rest of his life.

Yuri was sitting with his head on the cafeteria, lost in his worries, when Phichit came over with his lunch and sat down.

“You know Yuri, these lunchtime sigh sessions are becoming very common,” Phichit said, startling Yuri. “I’m starting to worry for your sanity, you’re too stressed.”

Yuri, as if to prove Phichit right, sighed. “I’m fine, just, a lot on my mind, as usual.”

“Is it Victor again?” Phichit asked, but as Yuri opened his mouth to reply Phichit continued. “Because once again, you’re too good for him and he should be groveling at your feet to date you, _but_ , if you are crushing so hard on him, you should just get him a gift or something to show him how you feel.”

“It’s not a Victor thing!” Yuri squeaked. “And anyway I can’t do that, are you nuts?”

“It’s just a present Yuri, not a wedding ring, calm down,” Phichit said, waving Yuri off. “Presents are normal things to give people to share your feelings.”

“Really?”

Yuri jumped and turned in his seat, immidiatly feeling his cheeks heating up. Victor was leaning over him, his eyebrows forming a question. Yurio was standing off to the side, glaring daggers at Yuri. Yuri wished he could go find a hole to hide in for eternity.

“Is getting a present for someone really a good way to show your feelings?” Victor continued.

“Um, uh, yes, I guess so?” Yuri stammered softly. He hoped that was the only part of the conversation Victor had caught onto.

“However, the gift has to convey the feeling you have, so you can’t just give them anything,” Phichit said, putting a finger to his face in thought. “Like if you wanted to tell someone you love them, you have to get them something really special. You can’t just get like, a pair of socks and say ‘here you go, I love you’ the present has to come from the heart.”

Victor hummed in thought, then turned towards Yuri. “Yuri, what would you want if you were getting a gift from someone?”

“M-me?” Yuri asked. Victor shook his head in earnest. “U-um, well, I don’t know. I’d probably be fine with anything as long as it was given with love.”

Victor furrowed his brow. Once again, not understanding the concept of love was really confusing him. How could he give something with love if he still didn’t understand what love was supposed to be?

…

“Hey pig.”

Yuri jumped at the voice that had interrupted his practice. It was after classes for the day, but Yuri had wanted to get in some extra practice time. He turned and saw Yurio, standing in the door of the practice room. He walked in, shutting the door behind him, then just glared at Yuri for a moment.

Yuri swallowed hard. “Um, can I help you?”

Yurio squinted at Yuri, as if he couldn’t figure out what he was seeing. “You’re Tutu, aren’t you?”

Yuri froze. He had known the question was coming but he still didn’t want to answer it. Did he lie and say no? Yurio couldn’t prove anything, and it wasn’t like anyone would believe Yurio. Yuri was the complete opposite of Tutu in every way.

But… what if he didn’t lie? He had already thought that telling someone he was Tutu might make his life easier. Yurio wasn’t the ideal person to tell, but someone would know. If Yurio listened to him, if Yurio tried to understand what he was trying to do, maybe they could work together to help Victor. At this point that seemed like wishful thinking, but what did Yuri have to lose?

“I… am Prince Tutu,” Yuri finally replied, his hands balled nervously into fists at his sides.

Yurio didn’t say anything for a few moments, as if deciding whether or not to believe Yuri. “Well… can’t say I guessed that. It makes sense though.” Yurio stepped up to Yuri, making Yuri feel uncomfortable. “This doesn’t change anything though. I’m still going to protect Victor from you.”

Yuri took a step back. “Why are you so against Victor regaining his heart? Victor wants his heart back.”

Yurio looked at the floor. “It doesn’t matter what I think is best, the story has gone too far for me to stop anything. I won’t stop Tutu, but Tutu brings a lot of danger with him and I want to protect Victor from it.”

“Why don’t we just work together to protect Victor?” Yuri asked. “We both have the same goal, we both want to keep Victor safe!”

“Frankly, I don’t trust you,” Yurio replied. “You say you want to help Victor, yet you hide your true self from him. I can’t figure out what you get from helping him to regain his heart. So right now, I can’t trust you. Not if I want to keep Victor safe.” With that Yurio turned on his heel and walked out of the practice room, leaving Yuri confused. How could he gain Yuri’s trust without revealing everything?

…

Victor was in a bit of a daze, lost in his own thoughts. Yuri had said getting someone a gift with love was the way to go, but Victor didn’t know what love was. He couldn’t remember the feeling. He may have the capacity to feel affection for people now, but love was still out of his reach. He also had no idea what kind of gift to get.

“Victor… Victor… VICTOR!”

Victor snapped to attention and looked at Chris, who he was walking through town with. “Sorry, what did you say?”

Chris sighed. “I’ve just been trying to get your attention, you’ve been spacing out this whole time. You okay?”

Victor nodded. “I’m fine. Sorry.”

Chris frowned, but didn’t push the issue. Victor had become increasingly distant over the past few days, but he wouldn’t tell Chris anything. Chris wanted to ask what was wrong, but he also didn’t want Victor to get bothered by him.

A soft melody lilted over the town square, and Victor’s attention was drawn to a woman who was turning a handle on a large music box, and was selling various gems.

“Do you want to go look at her stuff?” Chris asked. Victor nodded and as the two approached, Minako stopped turning the handle and smiled at them.

“Good afternoon Chris,” Minako said, leaning gently on her box. “And you as well, Victor.”

Victor’s eyes widened. “Have we met before?”

“According to Yuri, she knows everyone,” Chris said, smirking.

“My name is Minako,” Minako explained. “Nice to finally meet you in person. Please, look over my gems, see if any catch your eye. I may give it to you if you’re the right person.”

Victor nodded and looked over the gems displayed in her cart. She had so many, all gleaming and shining, various shapes and colors, but his eyes were almost immediately drawn to a bright orange gem. It was cradled in a golden wire, and it almost seemed to be calling to Victor.

“I actually just acquired that gem,” Minako said, delicately picking the gem up between her fingers. “This gem is named Love.”

Victor froze. Love. The word that had been haunting him for the past few days. Would this gem be a good gift for Tutu? Would it help him to figure out if his feelings were love?

“It seems like the gem is suited for you,” Minako said, holding out the gem to Victor. “I have to warn you though, while this gem is beautiful, it is easily scarred. Though beautiful, it is easily tarnished. If fought over, it may prove deadly.” Victor gently took the gem from Minako and cradled in in his palms. “Be careful with it.”

Victor nodded, almost entranced by the gem. Why did it seem so important for him?

As they walked away, Chris asked “So what are you going to do with the gem?”

“I’m… going to give it to Tutu,” Victor said, softly smiling. “I want to know how he feels about me.”

Chris frowned. Victor was fantasizing about having feelings for Tutu, feelings he didn’t even have. He also didn’t know that it was futile for Victor to try and get Tutu to confess their feelings. Tutu would vanish if he confessed. It would make Chris’s life easier if Tutu disappeared, but Tutu was tricky, and wouldn’t be dispatched so easily.

“Say,” Chris said. “Why don’t you let me borrow it for tonight? I can spruce it up, make it prettier, so Tutu is bound to love it.”

“You would do that for me?” Victor said in surprise.

“Of course,” Chris said, gently taking the gem from Victor. “That’s what friends are for.”

…

That night, Kraehe stood above the gem, which was perched in a small statue shaped like raven’s talon’s. Kraehe materialized a sharp black feather and pierced the shard with the feather. The feather did not break the gem, instead sinking into the gem, painting it black for a moment, before it went back to it’s original coloring. Kraehe picked up the gem and turned it in his fingers. There was no way to tell it had been tampered with. Which means Tutu wouldn’t know either.

…

Victor laid on his bed, looking up at the ceiling of his and Yurio’s shared room. It was late evening, but not too late that the last remnants of sunset had left the sky. Yurio was sitting at his desk, reading a book. Victor hadn’t asked what it was about.

“Hey Yurio?” Victor asked, his gaze not leaving a small speck on the ceiling.

“What?” Yurio replied, his gaze not leaving the book he was reading.

“I’m thinking of giving Tutu a gift.” Victor continued.

There was silence for a few seconds before Yurio replied. “Whatever.”

Victor glanced at Yurio. “You’re not mad?”

“Does it matter if I’m mad?” Yurio replied, not looking up. “Do what you want.”

Victor was silent for a few more moments before speaking again. “Yurio?”

Yurio sighed. “Yes Victor?”

“Promise me… You won’t draw your sword on Tutu anymore.”

Yurio finally turned to Victor, who was looking at him with such pitiful, pleading eyes. “I’m sorry… but I can’t promise you that.”

…

As Yuri walked back to the dorm after class the next day, he suddenly saw Victor rushing out of the gate to the dorm.

“ _That’s odd_ ,” Yuri thought to himself. Where would Victor be going so late in the day. He squinted up at the sky, which was covered by thick clouds. It looked like there would be a downpour at any moment, and it hadn’t looked like Victor had an umbrella. Yuri sighed. He had to go after Victor again it seemed. He ran off in the direction Victor had been going, hoping he could catch up. But as he went further into town, it seemed as though he wasn’t going to catch Victor. That is, until he heard a familiar tune playing in the square. He ran over to where Minako was standing in the square, her cart sheltered by a large covering in preparation from the rain.

“Miss Minako has Victor come this way?” Yuri asked.

“He has,” Minako replied. “He said he’s looking for the one to give his gift to, but since he doesn’t know where to find them, he’s looking in places he’s seen them before.”

Yuri’s heart dropped. It was Tutu. Victor was looking to give something to Tutu. He tried not to let his disappointment show. “Thank you, Miss Minako!” He waved at her and ran off, to begin his search. He searched the whole town, stopping at each place he had appeared to Victor as Tutu. From the little café where he had helped Georgi, to the bridge where he had almost quit being Tutu forever.

The last place Yuri checked was the abandoned mansion, where Giselle had almost taken Victor away. And there, sitting on the edge of the dried up fountain, was Victor, looking down at his hands in thought. Yuri ran over to him.

“There you are!” Yuri said, stopping, a little out of breath.

Victor looked up at Yuri. “Oh, hello Yuri. Why are you here?”

“I saw you run out of the dorms,” Yuri huffed. “I wanted to know if you were okay. And it looked like it was going to rain, I didn’t want you to get caught out without an umbrella. What are you doing out here anyway?”

“I was looking for Tutu,” Victor replied. “I want to give him something, but I can’t find him.”

“Maybe he’ll come to you,” Yuri said. He rummaged in his school bag and pulled out his umbrella, which was light blue and had a little piglet charm hanging off the handle. Phichit had given him the gift, not knowing the irony of it. Yuri held the umbrella out to Victor. “You can borrow this if you want.”

Victor took the umbrella from Yuri. “Thank you. But what will you use if you get stuck in the rain?”

“I’m running back to the dorm,” Yuri replied. “So hopefully I make it back before it rains.”

“Thank you, Yuri,” Victor said. Yuri smiled and skipped off. Once he got far enough away, he hid behind a tree, and transformed into Prince Tutu. He quietly strode over to the prince, who was looking down at the umbrella in his lap.

“Why are you out here all alone my prince?” Tutu asked, getting Victor’s attention. Victor leapt up, dropping the umbrella in surprise.

“Tutu!” he exclaimed. “I’ve been looking for you everywhere.”

“Really?” Tutu asked, tilting his head. “Why would you be looking for me?”

“I wanted to give you something,” Victor said, pulling the gem from his jacket pocket. When Chris had given the gem back, he had attached it to a golden chain, turning it into a necklace. He held it out for Tutu to see.

“It’s beautiful,” Tutu admired. “I’ll gladly accept it.” Victor reached around Tutu and clipped together the ends of the chain. Tutu turned around and Victor could see the orange gem laid right above the ornate red jeweled pendant Tutu wore regularly.

“Strange,” Victor mumbled.

“What’s strange?” Tutu asked.

“Well I was told that if you give someone a gift, you can learn about your feelings, and what they feel about you,” Victor explained. “But I still have no idea how you feel about me. Whether or not you see me as a friend, whether you even like me or not. I still don’t know.”

Tutu was about to reply, when his pendant glowed brightly with red light. He looked down and saw the orange gem was glowing as well. He cupped his hands in front of the gem. “Come on out.”

The red glow materialized in front of Tutu and Victor, showing the glowing form of a heart shard.

“You’re safe now,” Tutu said. “You can go home.”

“Thank goodness,” The heart shard replied. “Inside the gem it was so dark and lonely.” The shard condensed into its crystalline form, but as Tutu reached out to place the shard back in Victor’s chest, black thorny vines erupted from the orange gem around his neck, trapping him and keeping the heart shard from fully immersing itself into Victor. Black wind whipped around, and the echoes of laughter sounded around them.

“Well, that worked much better than I thought it would,” Kraehe said, sauntering over to Victor. Victor’s face was scrunched in pain. “Don’t worry my prince, the pain Tutu is causing you will end soon.” Kraehe grabbed the heart shard and ripped it from Victor’s chest, causing Victor to collapse into his arms.

“No, Kraehe what have you done?” Tutu shouted, unable to free himself from the vines ensnaring him.

“Quiet Tutu!” Kraehe snapped. “Or, should I tell the prince who you really are hm?” Kraehe chuckled and Tutu froze. Did Kraehe really know his secret?

“You did this to him you know,” Kraehe said, gently pushing some hair out of Victor’s face. “The feelings the prince has for you made the vines, I only made the spell. If the prince’s feelings weren’t so strong, you could have easily escaped. If only you could tell him your feelings back.” Kraehe laughed again, and the winds whipped up. Suddenly the vines released Tutu, but he was alone, Kraehe and Victor nowhere to be found.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's the end of chapter 11! Hopefully it won't be too long a wait until the next chapter. Thank you all for sticking with this fic and leaving your comments and kudos, they really make my day.
> 
> This fic is not beta'd so if you find something wrong, let me know so I can fix it! 
> 
> As always, if you want to talk to me about yoi or princess tutu or anything, feel free to leave a comment here or message me on my [ tumblr](http://cowlover2.tumblr.com)! (if you message me on tumblr be sure to tell me you came from the fic, otherwise I might just think you're a spambot, :\ )


	12. Banquet of Darkness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The two Yuri's search for Victor, and they learn a lot of truths along the way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ya'll I have had this chapter sitting in my computer half finished for idk how long I am so sorry it's taken me this long to get it done. I hope it was worth the wait though!
> 
> We're getting down to the wire folks, some stuff is going down in these next two chapters. Also... Victuuri is coming... soon
> 
> (Also not as important but this chapter has one of my favorite scenes from the anime in it and I'm so hyped I got to finally write it)

Chapter 12: Banquet of Darkness

_Once upon a time, there was a handsome slave._

_What bound him were not heavy chains, but the love of a princess. Every day, every night, the princess whispered her love to the slave, and the slave responded in kind. Bound body, bound emotions. The slave or the princess, which of them is really the one unable to move?_

_…_

Tutu quickly transformed back into Yuri and started running back into town. He had no idea where he would start looking, but at this moment his panicked mind didn’t care. Kraehe had stolen Victor, and Yuri wasn’t sure if he had any intention of giving the prince back. Something was different now. Kraehe had always been protective of Victor, but removing a heart shard from Victor’s chest? That seemed more extreme than usual.

Yuri ran in the direction of the school, unsure of why, when he caught sight of Yurio sitting outside reading a book. It seemed a bit strange, considering the sky was dark with thick clouds that seemed like they would burst at any moment. Yurio was always one to go against the norm though.

“Yurio!” Yuri shouted, running frantically towards him.

Yurio looked up. “What’s wrong pig?”

Yuri placed his hands on his knees, trying to breathe. “I-it’s Victor. Kr-Kraehe took him.”

Yurio shot up, dropping his book on the ground. “What‽ Where? Where did that disgusting crow take Victor?”

“I-I don’t know,” Yuri replied, shaking his head. “I have no idea where to start looking, he could be anywhere.”

Yurio huffed. “Useless. Fine, lets go look for him. As much as I hate to say it, if we do find Kraehe, Tutu may be helpful.”

…

Kraehe sighed and pushed a strand of hair from Victor’s face. To his dismay, removing the heart shard had turned Victor into a shell of his former self. He was like a puppet now, with no will of his own. Kraehe hadn’t thought Victor would have such a violent reaction to having a shard removed. Kraehe hadn’t wanted this, he had just wanted Victor to stop moving so far ahead of him, to stop leaving him behind.

“This is all your fault you know,” Kraehe said, sitting next to where Victor’s emotionless form was lying. “If you didn’t want your heart back so badly, none of this would have happened. We would still be happy, I would still be Chris…”

That may be what Kraehe missed most. Getting to just be Chris, to have friends, getting to go to school, to dance. To be normal. It was too late for that now. Now he was Kraehe, prince of the crows. He couldn’t go back to normality.

“This isn’t really your fault though,” Kraehe muttered. “It’s that meddling Tutu who is to blame. Before him, you were content with no heart. Everyone was content that you didn’t have a heart. But Tutu filled your head with fantasies and look where that’s gotten you.” He balled his fists in his lap, feeling sharp pricks as his nails dug into his palms. Tutu would get what’s coming for him. Kraehe would make sure of that.

…

The cloud blanketed sky had darkened even more as the two Yuri’s made their way back to Gold Crown Academy. They had been searching everywhere for Victor, everywhere they could think of, but there was no sign of him. He had just vanished, like he had never existed.

“This is stupid!” Yurio yelled, rubbing his face in frustration. “We can’t just keep looking for him, Kraehe could be moving him around, we’ll never find Victor like this.”

“I don’t know what else to do,” Yuri replied. “We don’t have any clues as to where Kraehe would have taken him.”

“There has to be something we’ve missed,” Yurio mused. “Are you sure Kraehe didn’t give you anything to go on?”

Yuri shook his head. “Nothing. Just his usual ravings about how Tutu is ruining his life, then he disappeared with Victor.”

Yurio groaned. “Well, at least we know he’s somewhat safe. Kraehe wouldn’t hurt Victor, not intentionally.”

The two walked around the campus, checking everywhere they hadn’t looked yet. The library, the classrooms, even the practice hall. They found no traces of their hidden friend, or the crow that took him.

Giving up hope, the two walked around the back of the ballet building, where a small gazebo was. As they approached, Yurio stopped in his tracks as a voice called out from the gazebo.

“Why hello there.”

Yuri’s eyes widened, as from behind on of the pillars holding the structure up, Victor emerged.

“Victor, you’re alright!” Yuri breathed. He moved to run to Victor, but Yurio held fast onto the other boy’s sleeve.

“Wait,” Yurio murmured. “There’s something not right here.”

Victor slowly began to dance around the gazebo, speaking as he moved. “Do you know the story of the Prince and the Raven? It’s a tale of a brave prince who battles a monster raven. There was a knight who the prince trusted, but this same knight was torn in two by the claws of the raven, without even landing a single blow with his sword.” As he told the tale of the knight, Victor mimed holding a sword, and swung it at an invisible foe. “A useless wretch, who could only talk of protection.”

Yuri glanced at Yurio, and saw the boy was gritting his teeth in anger. Yuri knew without a doubt now that Yurio was correct, that something wasn’t right. Victor was kind and selfless and would never speak ill of his friends. By telling the story this way, it made it seem as though Yurio was useless. Victor would never say that, would never even think his friends were useless.

“That’s why the prince suffered such hardship,” Victor continued. “The raven had leapt out of the story. Alone, the prince pursued it, and alone, he sealed it away. Of his own will, he used a forbidden power. The prince drew his own sword and took his heart out of his body.” Victor knelt down and mimed plunging a sword into his chest. A voice behind Victor laughed and suddenly Chris appeared from behind one of the columns of the gazebo, taking Victor into a slow dance.

“Yuri, what do you really know about Prince Tutu?” Chris asked, glancing over at the boy while slowly turning with Victor. Yuri’s hands suddenly felt clammy. He didn’t know why Chris was here, but he had a feeling he was not going to like the answer.

“You see, in The Prince and The Raven, Prince Tutu is only mentioned in a few sentences,” Chris continued. “A miserable being which none of the characters in the story wanted to take on. An insignificant existence which even the story left by the wayside.” Chris chuckled darkly as Victor gently dipped him. “Someone who could never hope to catch the prince’s attention, poor thing.”

“Chris, w-what’s going on?” Yuri timidly asked. “W-why are you telling me this?”

Chris stopped dancing and looked Yuri. The look in Chris’s eyes made Yuri feel as though there was ice in his veins. “You really haven’t figured it out yet, have you Yuri?” Chris snapped, and wind picked up around them. Victor suddenly transformed into a large raven that fluttered down and landed on the newly transformed arm, of Prince Kraehe.

“No,” Yuri breathed, sinking to his knees. He felt as if all the air had been sucked from his lungs. Chris couldn’t be Kraehe, it wasn’t possible.

Kraehe fondly petted the head of the bird perched on his arm. “We only came here to retrieve something the prince left behind.” Kraehe lifted his other arm and two crows swooped down and dropped the prince’s swan-hilted sword into his waiting grasp. “Until we meet again I suppose.” With that, the wind kicked back up, and swept Kraehe away as it always did.

The two Yuri’s stayed in stunned silence for a few moments after Kraehe left, each unsure if what they had just seen was real. Suddenly Yurio yelled loudly in frustration.

“That bastard!” Yurio screamed. “He just came here to gloat and then left again. We’re no closer to finding Victor now than we were!”

Yuri still couldn’t answer. He felt defeated. Victor was missing, and Chris, who he considered a friend, was behind the kidnapping. He had been behind everything. He couldn’t go against Chris, not his friend.

“Hey, snap out of it!”

Yuri whipped his head towards Yurio, who was glaring down at him. “We’re going to get Victor back, stop looking so pathetic.”

Yuri gave a soft smile and stood up. “Thanks, Yurio.” Yurio just rolled his eyes in response.

The two went back to their search. They checked over the rest of the cmapus, then, finding Victor nowhere, they began to double check places they had already been. As they walked through the town square, Yuri heard a soft melody echoing around the buildings.

“Miss Minako?” Yuri murmured, looking around. He couldn’t see the mysterious woman, but the melody was definitely from her music box. Waving for the younger boy to follow him, Yuri followed the sound, winding through the maze of buildings in downtown Gold Crown until he came upon a church. It wasn’t very tall, but it had beautiful stone carvings of angels all throughout the front facade. A stained-glass window glinted dully in the cloudy weather. Standing off to the side of the front steps of the building was Minako, turning away at the handle of her music box.

“Miss Minako!” Yuri shouted, running over to the woman. Wordlessly, she stopped playing, and the drawer on her cart popped open, revealing her large collection of gems. She pulled out a smooth green oval emerald and placed in into an indent of the church wall next to her. There was a loud click, and a stone panel slipped open, revealing an underground passage below the church.

“You can get to the prince and Kraehe through here,” Minako explained, gesturing down the path. “This is all I can do for you.”

“It’s more than enough,” Yuri replied. “Thank you, Miss Minako. You’re always there when I need someone.”

“I wish I could say that it was kindness that led me to help you,” Minako replied, shrugging. “However, I was just doing what I was told to do. Following the pull of my strings, for I am only a puppet.”

“W-what?” Yuri shakily asked. “B-but, you’ve helped me so much! You’ve been so kind to me. You can’t be…”

Minako shook her head sadly. “I don’t have feelings, or a heart. I’ve only been here to help the story move along like it’s supposed to be doing. I have no more orders now, so both of you must continue on without me.”

Yuri stared at Minako, then hugged her tightly. “Thank you, for everything.” Minako paused, then gently petted the top of Yuri’s head.

“You must go now,” Minako said softly. “Victor is waiting for you.”

Yuri took a deep breath, then the two boys jumped through the opening to the passage and began their journey down into the unknown.

The two went down the steps quietly for a while, both having a lot to think about. Many truths had been revealed to them, and most of them hadn’t been good. Finally, as if wanting to fill the silence, Yurio spoke.

“So… you’re really Prince Tutu right?” Yurio asked.

“Yes?” Yuri answered hesitantly, not really sure where this question was going.

“What made you want to take on such a horrible role?” Yurio continued. “Tutu has the worst fate in the story, yet you still took on the mantle.”

Yuri hesitated, figuring out how he wanted to phrase it. “Well… when I first saw Victor, I just noticed how lonely he looked. I wanted to try and help him fight against that loneliness, so I was given the role of Tutu. As everything’s continued… it’s become a lot more to me than that. As myself, I’m not strong, I have no power. As Tutu though, I’m not so helpless, I can actually do something for Victor. To help him.”

Yurio opened his mouth to reply, when the rustling of feathers appeared somewhere down the corridor. A mass of black feathers burst out from the steps below them, and the cloud of crows swarmed them. Yuri stepped backwards, trying to swat them away, but the step underneath him crumbled and Yuri yelled as he began falling backwards. Yurio reached out to try and grab the other boy, but ended up being pushed off by the crows, falling next to Yuri.

The two landed roughly but were surprised to see they hadn’t landed on stone. The floor was covered in overgrown weeds and grass. The room they were in was circular, made with stone walls covered in some sort of moss. A small pond was in front of them, but other than that there was nothing else in the room.

“Shit,” Yurio murmured. “Kraehe’s not playing around, is he?” The blonde stood up and walked over to the wall, rubbing his hand on the moss. “It’s too slippery, there’s no way we can climb it.”

Yuri looked around, trying to see if there was any other way out. In the wall, next to the edge of the small pool, was a circular opening. That could lead to something. He walked over and knelt down next to it but found that it was too small for either boy to fit through. If he was a piglet though… he might make it.

“You find something?” Yurio asked Yuri over his shoulder, causing Yuri to jump. Before Yuri could reply, Yurio glanced down at the hole. “Damn, too small. We’ll have to keep looking I guess.” Yurio walked off to look some more.

Yuri swallowed hard. Was he really going to reveal everything to Yurio? Did he have a choice? They needed to get to Victor, and this looked like the only way. Yuri stood up and shakily unclasped his pendant, staring at the red jewel in his hand.

“Hey Yurio?” Yuri asked quietly.

Yurio glanced over at him. “Yeah? What’s up?”

“Once, I lost this necklace, and you held on to it for me, remember?” Yuri asked, looking up at Yurio. The other boy nodded suspiciously. “Could… could you hold onto it again for me? Just for a second.” Yurio stared for a moment, then slowly nodded, holding out his hand. Yuri hesitated, then took a deep breath and pressed the necklace into Yurio’s hand. Immediately after his hand left the gem, Yuri felt himself transform, and suddenly he had shrunk into his true form, a little piglet. He wriggled his way out of the pile of clothing he had left behind. Not waiting to see Yurio’s reaction, he scampered through the hole to see if there was a way out.

Yurio was mortified.

He almost couldn’t believe what had just happened. The other boy had just turned into a _piglet_? He had seen a lot of strange things in this town but that took the cake. But then he thought about it more, and he felt his face heat up and fell backwards on his rear. Yuri wasn’t just a piglet, _he was the piglet._ The one he had found on campus, the one he had given the pendant to… the one who had seen him cry.

Piglet Yuri came trotting excitedly out of the opening, snorting at Yurio as if trying to tell him something.

“What the hell‽” Yurio shouted in embarrassment. “You can’t just do that! What the hell! Why didn’t you tell me?”

The piglet huffed angrily and snatched the pendant back in his mouth, transforming back into a boy.

“It’s not like I revealed that because I wanted to!” Yuri yelled back, then felt his face burst into flames as he realized he wasn’t wearing clothes. He quickly picked up his clothes and put them back on.

“Have you always been a pig?” Yuri questioned, turned away from the boy, his face still crimson.

“Yes,” Yuri replied tensely. “The necklace originally only turned me into a boy, not Tutu. That came later.”

Yurio rubbed his face in frustration. “So… did you find anything? While you were down there?”

Yuri’s face lit up as he finished pulling his shoes on. “Right!” Yuri pointed to the pool. “That pool runs under the wall, into a drainage tunnel. If we swim under the wall, there’s pathways on either side of the tunnel. I smelled fresher air coming from deeper in the tunnel, but I didn’t go very far in.”

The two dove into the pool, and sure enough, there was an opening under the wall. They swam under and popped back up, crawling out onto the path on one side of the tunnel. They made their way down the path, hoping it led them closer to Victor.

“So,” Yurio said, trying to break the awkward tension that had suddenly developed between the two of them. “When I was younger, when Victor first appeared and came to live with me, I would read him The Prince and The Raven all the time. Every time, Victor was always most interested in what happened to Tutu. He wanted to hear over and over and over again how Prince Tutu turned into a speck of light and vanished. Just a few lines of the story, but he was obsessed. I think… his desire to regain his heart shards most likely stems from Tutu’s role in returning them.”

Yuri smiled to himself. He couldn’t say it, but he was glad Tutu was so important to Victor. Because Victor was important to him. More important than anyone else.

The tunnel finally opened up and the two found them on the bank of a huge lake. Huge moss covered stone columns held up the building around the lake. The area was mostly empty, except for a small island towards the back of the lake. It had large curving stone half arches over one side, as if they were talons holding this island out of the water. There was a stone dais, and laying on it, was Victor. He was dressed in an elegant purple tunic, with white tights. A crown of blue roses sat on his head, and his silver hair was fanned gracefully around him. His sword was laid on his body, gently clasped in his hands. The dais was surrounded by beautiful blue roses. Next to the sleeping prince, was Kraehe, who looked up at the Yuri’s as they came into the room.

“You finally made it,” Kraehe said.

Yurio balled his hands into fists. “No thanks to you.”

Kraehe smiled. “I knew you’d make it eventually. I couldn’t make it too easy for you though.”

“What have you done to Victor?” Yurio shouted.

Kraehe looked down at the prince. “He’s alright, don’t worry. I would never hurt him, unlike you.”

“You bitch!” Yurio yelled, about to leap forward. Yuri grabbed him before he could fall into the water.

Yuri looked at Kraehe. He still couldn’t believe this person was Chris. He didn’t want to hurt Kraehe, but he needed to get Victor back. Feeling the familiar warmth in his core, Yuri transformed into Prince Tutu, and as he pirouetted, the surface of the lake froze, but it was not cold like ice, it was as if the lake had turned to glass.

“Please, Kraehe, stop this!” Tutu begged. “We all want the same thing, please, let Victor go!”

Kraehe’s brow furrowed. “Tutu, I don’t believe we want the same things. But I agree, let’s stop this foolishness. Yakov has given us such a miraculous stage, the least we can do is provide a good show.” Kraehe lifted his hand and a crow dropped a small box into his hand.

“Victor’s feeling of love is inside this box,” Kraehe explained, looking at the box in reverence. “A heart that loves everyone and everything, but belongs to no one.” Kraehe looked up at Tutu. “Let’s see who the heart chooses. If the shard chooses you, I’ll return it and the prince.” Kraehe laughed. “So, Prince Tutu, speak to it of what’s in your heart!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (It was the scene where Yuri revealed he was a piglet to Yurio, that's one of my fav scenes in the anime lol)
> 
> That's the end of chapter 12! There may be a bit of a delay until the next chapter, as I have to get it planned out, and I also want to do some special art, since it's the last chapter of this 'arc' of the story. I'll do my best to have the next chapter out as soon as I can though!
> 
> Thank you all for sticking with this fic and leaving your comments and kudos, they really make my day.
> 
> This fic is not beta'd so if you find something wrong, let me know so I can fix it! 
> 
> As always, if you want to talk to me about yoi or princess tutu or anything, feel free to leave a comment here or message me on my [ tumblr](http://cowlover2.tumblr.com)! (if you message me on tumblr be sure to tell me you came from the fic, otherwise I might just think you're a spambot, :\ )


	13. Swan Lake

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In order to get Victor back, Kraehe has demanded that Tutu confess his feelings to Victor. But if Tutu speaks his true feelings, he'll vanish into a speck of light! Can Tutu and Yurio figure out a way to save Victor from Kraehe, or will Tutu disappear forever?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ... so this chapter got out way faster then I thought it would lol.
> 
> I've been excited for this chapter for so long! Ever since I birthed this au in my mind, I couldn't wait for this chapter. So after the last chapter I immediately planned and wrote this out. I really liked how it came up, so I hope you enjoy!

_Once upon a time, there was a prince that fell in love with a beautiful swan. The prince, however, fell into a foul trap set by a black swan, and ended up betraying his beloved swan. The prince swore his love unintentionally to the black swan, but even then, the swan abandoned himself and tried to protect his beloved prince. Now is the time when the depth of their love will be tested._

_..._

[ ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/158968595@N05/29828822018/in/dateposted/)

“Whose words will the shard be drawn to once we’ve laid our hearts bare?” Kraehe said, smiling cruelly at Tutu. “Although, it doesn’t really matter, because when you speak your feelings, you’ll finally vanish from this story.”

Tutu’s eyes were wide with panic. He tried to think of something, anything, any other way he could get Victor and the shard back. He didn’t want to disappear, he couldn’t. Not yet.

“Why do we have to fight, Kraehe?” Tutu asked desperately. “We both want to help Victor.”

Kraehe’s eyes darkened as he answered. “It’s your fault, because you restored pieces of Victor’s heart. The fact that the prince is regaining his heart means that the story will begin to move forward. You set the tale in motion, even though no one wanted you to. Isn’t that right Yurio?”

Tutu’s eyes widened, and he looked towards Yurio. The boy’s brow was furrowed.

“That may have been true,” Yurio replied. “But now Victor wishes to regain his heart, so that’s also what I wish. It seems, Kraehe, that you’re the only person here who disagrees.”

If looks could kill, the look Kraehe was giving Yurio would set him on fire. Kraehe waved his hand, and suddenly, Victor awoke. He sat up from atop the dais, blue rose petals fluttering to the ground around him.

“Unfortunately, it looks as though you’ve lost,” Kraehe spat. “Since I removed the heart shard from his chest, he’s gone back to being the doll he once was, all of his emotions asleep once again, as they should be.”

“No,” Tutu breathed, tears threatening to build in his eyes. Victor had just begun to smile, to feel, and Kraehe had taken that away. How could he be so cruel?

Kraehe removed the heart shard from the box in his hand and held it out, magically creating a small black pedestal to hold the glittering shard. “Now, my prince, shatter this shard with your sword!”

As if under a spell, Victor took his sword and swung it upwards, preparing to swing down the blade to shatter the sword. The prince’s movements were strange, not quite natural, as if he were being controlled like a puppet.

“Now!” yelled Kraehe, and Victor began to swing the sword down.

“No, stop!” Tutu screamed, his feet about to start running towards the prince. He knew he couldn’t make it, but he couldn’t let the shard be shattered.

“Stop!” Kraehe shouted, waving his arm. Victor stopped the blade, hovering just an inch above the shard. Tutu sank to the ground in relief.

“There’s no way out of this Tutu,” Kraehe said. “Now get onto your confession and let me see you vanish.”

Tutu couldn’t believe that this person was Chris, his friend. Chris was such a kind person; how could he hold so much hatred? He would destroy Victor’s chance of happiness just to keep the story from moving?

“Fine,” Tutu replied, defeated. “But once I vanish, you must promise me that you’ll stop hurting Victor.”

Kraehe waved him off. “I’ll keep him safer than you ever did. Soon the prince will forget all about you.”

Tutu took a deep breath. He didn’t want to disappear, but there seemed to be no way out of it. He gently took a step onto the glass surface of the lake.

“Idiot!”

Tutu felt a yank on his arm and was pulled backwards. Yurio grabbed Tutu’s wrists and looked at him, eyes filled with a mixture of anger and determination.

“Don’t be stupid Tutu!” Yurio spat. “You’re taking what this crow says to heart? If you vanish then who’s going to restore the rest of Victor’s heart? You’re the only one who can do that.”

“But, there’s no other way…” Tutu protested.

“Think of one!” Yurio yelled. “You wanted to see Victor smile once he got all of his heart shards returned right? Besides, Victor would be devastated if you disappear.”

Yurio was right, Tutu knew that. But what else could he do?

“I’ll try and make sure Victor can’t shatter the shard,” Yurio muttered. “Think of something.” Yurio pulled a pocket knife out of his pocket and flicked it open, then ran out onto the surface of the lake towards Victor.

Kraehe smirked. “You’re not going to be able to get close to him.” Kraehe waved his hand and suddenly crows that were sitting all around the room were turned into warriors, with sharp swords, and they all encircled Yurio.

Yurio worked fast. He ducked and weaved through the soldiers, slicing them when he could. Tutu had never seen anything like it. Every time he brought one of them down the crow disappeared into a burst of light. Yurio spun, his ballet skills showing as he spun and leaped through the battle. Crow after crow was slain by Yurio’s small blade.

Finally, Yurio made it to the base of Kraehe’s island. He didn’t make it out completely unscathed, as small cuts littered his body. His chest heaved as he sucked air into his lungs.

Kraehe slowly clapped, grabbing Yurio’s attention. “Very impressive, however, you won’t be getting any further.”

“Give Victor back you crow!” Yurio growled.

“I won’t” Kraehe replied. “Also, Tutu isn’t the only one who has control over this stage.” Kraehe raised his hand horizontally with the surface of the lake.

“What are you-" Yurio asked, then fell, as Kraehe turned the lake back into water again. Then, Kraehe sent black feather daggers raining down upon Yurio.

“NO!” Tutu cried, tears dripping down his face as he saw a pool of red bloom from where Yurio had fallen. He couldn’t lose Yurio, he couldn’t do this without him.

Tutu heard a splash and looked up to see a hand gripping onto the shore. Slowly, Yurio crawled out of the water, his clothes torn to shreds and his body bleeding. He stood up, wobbling.

“I’m sorry Victor,” Yurio breathed. “But I can’t let you do that.” Yurio lifted his knife, and then brought it down on Victor’s sword as hard as he could, and Tutu heard a snap as Victor’s sword broke in two. The pieces of the sword turned into specks of light and then flew away, to who knows where.

Yurio’s eyes fluttered. “Sorry… Tutu,” he whispered and as if in slow motion, he fell backwards into the water, sinking into the depths.

Tutu sobbed, putting his hands over his mouth. He couldn’t do this alone… but he had to. He was the only hope to save Victor now. He had to figure out how to beat Kraehe. A way to tell Victor his feelings without actually saying anything.

Kraehe held out his hand to the heart shard. “Come on out now.” The shard glowed brightly and then the red figure of Victor appeared from it. The feeling of love. Tutu had to get it back.

“Time to speak your words of love to the shard, Tutu,” Kraehe said, smirking. “Now that you’ve found your resolve to vanish.”

“No,” Tutu replied. “I refuse to vanish.”

Tutu pirouetted, turning the lake back into it’s glass surface. Then silently, he stepped out, and began to dance.

“ _I cannot speak words of love to you Victor,”_ Tutu thought to himself as he danced. “ _But I can dance. Surely I can convey my feelings through that as well._ ”

Tutu danced like he never had before, trying to convey his huge feelings of love through his dance. He needed Victor to understand, he needed Victor see. Each step deliberately taken to convey all of the feelings he had to lock away in his heart. The emotions that threatened to spill out every time he looked at Victor.

“So, you mean to convey your feelings through dance to keep from disappearing?” Kraehe chuckled. “Clever of you.” Kraehe leapt down from the island he was standing on, and also began to dance. “Let’s see whose dance will entice the heart shard.”

Yuri almost didn’t notice Kraehe dancing next to him, for he was too lost in his own dance. Too lost in his own emotions, trying to figure out how best to convey them through his movements. However, he knew Kraehe must be giving it his all as well. Kraehe wasn’t really dancing for Victor’s heart like Tutu was. He was dancing just for Victor, for the right to protect him. For some reason, Kraehe wanted to stop the story from advancing, and it seemed as though the crow prince would do anything to get his way.

Tutu suddenly felt the brush of a feather against his arm, and his head whipped around to see that Kraehe had spun next to him.

“You know, you could never hope to win over the prince, you’re just borrowing the power of Prince Tutu. You’re just a sham of a prince, right Yuri?”

Tutu stumbled, falling to one knee. That’s right, he was just… just Yuri. Even more than that, he wasn’t even a boy. He was a piglet. A piglet trying to convince a beautiful prince that he was more than he was. Tutu tried to dance again, to put those thoughts from his mind, to remember why he was dancing, but now every movement he made seemed lost, less full of love and more full of confusion. Kraehe had been aiming to make Tutu falter, and it had worked. Darkness started to fill Tutu’s vision, and he heard Kraehe laugh. Tutu looked up and saw the spirit of the heart shard being drawn to Kraehe.

“Well, it seems as though the heart shard has made it’s choice,” Kraehe smirked, starting to slowly dance with the glowing figure.

“No,” Tutu grimaced. He couldn’t give up. Shaking his head, he stood, staring defiantly at Kraehe. “I won’t give up, because my feelings, are still my own! It doesn’t matter if I’m just using Tutu’s power, I know who I’m using this power for.”

Tutu stood alone, but after a few moments, he began to dance. Kraehe’s eyes widened as he saw just what Tutu was trying to do.

“A pas de deux?” Kraehe wondered, eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “A solo pas de deux. How perfect for a wretch like you. I wonder what you’re going to do for the parts you can’t do alone.”

Tutu spun around, arms outstretched, as if reaching towards someone. As he danced, Kraehe’s eyes widened in surprise. It was almost as if… someone was dancing with Tutu. As Tutu moved through the steps of the dance, it was almost possible to see Victor dancing with him.

_“I want you to be here with me.”_

Every move Tutu made was graceful and perfect, his movements radiating his wish for Victor to be by his side, for Victor to dance with him.

_“I want you to smile, I want you to dance with me.”_

A soft smile on his face, Tutu danced, as if being led by someone else. He wasn’t dancing alone. Even though he wasn’t by his side, Tutu felt Victor with him.

“ _I want you to be strong and gentle in supporting me.”_

Tutu knew Victor was supporting him. Victor was always supporting him. Through every step of this journey, through the good and the bad, Victor had always been there for him. Even when Victor had been so scared of Tutu, of his emotions and what having them meant, he never wavered in his faith. Tutu had to do the same. He had to support Victor now.

_“The real me is a piglet with no power of my own, but if I have you…”_

Tutu turned, preparing himself for what he was about to do. He wasn’t scared. Victor was there with him. He could do anything with Victor by his side.

_“I can transform!”_

[ ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/158968595@N05/43698928431/in/photostream/)

Tutu leapt into the air, body bending gracefully backwards. Kraehe looked on in awe as it seemed that Tutu was being lifted, hovering in the air as if being supported from below.

Gravity soon took hold of him again, and he fell roughly to the ground, laying for a moment before shakily standing back up and continuing his pas de deux, his yearning for Victor showing in the way he stretched out his arms, the feeling of determination blossoming in a flush over his cheeks.

_“My feelings for you are what make me Prince Tutu. I want to protect you.”_

Tutu began to slowly spin around, as if being guided by his invisible partner.

_“In truth, you must not have wanted to lose your heart. All the laughter and tears. Loving someone. You threw that all away to protect everyone’s happiness. The person who possesses that kind heart is the true you. And the truth is…”_

Tutu stopped spinning, leaning in an arabesque, towards where the true Victor was standing. Tears dripped from his eyes, but Tutu couldn’t tell if they were from sadness or happiness. Sadness that he could never say this out loud. Happiness that he could still express it.

_“I love you.”_

 Through his tears, as if seeing a spell being lifted, Tutu could see Victor’s eyelids flutter, like he was waking from a dream. He blinked a few times in confusion, then looked at Tutu, his eyes shining with emotion. Standing at the edge of the island, Victor outstretched his arms.

“I’m right here, Tutu.”

Tutu stood for a moment on shaky legs, then ran as fast as he could, leaping into Victor’s awaiting arms, crying even harder.

[ ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/158968595@N05/29828822208/in/photostream/)

“Thank goodness!” Tutu sobbed into Victor’s chest, as Victor held him tightly. Tutu suddenly felt safe, enveloped by Victor’s warmth. He could do anything, with Victor by his side.

“I’m here,” Victor murmured into the top of Tutu’s head. “I’m here.”

Kraehe looked on in anger, watching defeatedly as the heart shard drifted over to Prince Tutu and Victor.

“ _It seems like… no matter what I do… I’ll be left behind.”_

Kraehe covered his face in anguish and a violent wind storm whipped up around the crow prince. Tutu and Victor covered their eyes. Tutu walked forward, trying to make it to Kraehe, trying to understand, when suddenly, the wind stopped, and Kraehe was gone.

As soon as Kraehe disappeared, the scene around them disintegrated. The lake under their feet vanished, leaving only a weathered stone floor. The island dispersed into thousands of crows, and Tutu and Victor watched as a flourish of birds flew upward and out of the building.

“This place was just an illusion,” Victor said in awe.

Tutu smiled, his face flushed from crying, and turned to the waiting heart shard. “It’s time for you to go home now.” The shard leapt into Tutu’s awaiting hands and Tutu gently pressed the shard into Victor’s chest. He grimaced for a moment, the feeling of regaining his heart still uncomfortable, but when that shard clicked into place, Victor felt overwhelmed. This was… love. Finally, the emotion he had been wanting to understand for so long. He felt warm. It felt like it could overpower him, and he wouldn’t care. It was better than anything he could have imagined.

Tutu gently took the prince’s hand. “We should go.”

“Wait, Tutu,” Victor said, grabbing onto Tutu’s hand. Tutu looked at him in surprise, then looked attentive, waiting for Victor to collect his thoughts.

“I… think I understand how I feel now,” Victor continued. “I’m a prince, someone who is supposed to love everyone, and be loved by everyone. But when I look at you… I don’t want that. I only want you. Tutu… I love you.”

Tutu yanked his hand away, covering his mouth in shock. He knew that Victor loved Tutu. And he loved Victor with all of his heart, but… he wasn’t really Tutu. He inhabited Tutu some of the time, but he wasn’t Tutu. He was Yuri. And Victor needed to know that.

“Victor you know that I can’t say that back,” Tutu said slowly. “But I can say… my heart is only for you. However, before you give your love to me, there’s something you should know.” Tutu gently laid his hand on the pendant around his neck. “I’m… not always Prince Tutu. In fact, I would say that I’m not Tutu at all. I change into him because he is the one with the power to restore your heart. Prince Tutu is just a role that I sometimes play.” Tears began to drip down Tutu’s face as he smiled. “I want you to meet the real me, before you decide you love me.”

Tutu stood back from Victor and felt the energy of Tutu running through him. The warmth of Tutu slowly slipped away, nestling in his core, and then Tutu was gone. In his place, just Yuri.

Victor was silent. Yuri looked at his toes, unable to bring himself to look at Victor. He felt as if he had lied to Victor, which he never wanted to do. He had never even thought Victor would ever look at him. But he loved Victor, so much.

Yuri flinched when suddenly, he was back in Victor’s arms, being held closely. Victor was still quiet. Yuri’s heart thundered loudly in his ears.

“You’ve always interested me,” Victor finally said, softly. “You had such a beautiful style of dancing. At the time, I had no emotions, I couldn’t see things like beauty or expression. I just thought you were… interesting. As my heart was returned to me, and we became closer, I found my thoughts drifting to you a lot. What were you doing? What inspired your style of dance? I… may have become fixated on you. I never knew why. Even when I found myself falling for Tutu, I also found myself drawn more and more to you. I feel like… like I fell in love with you first, Yuri. That I’ve loved you for so long before I knew what love was, that loving you was only natural for me to do.”

Yuri let out a choked sob and hugged Victor tightly, his fingers digging into Victor’s back. He wished he could say it back, tell Victor how much he loved him.

“Thank you,” Yuri said instead.

Victor lifted Yuri’s head, cradling it in his hand, wiping Yuri’s tears with his thumb. “You’re quite wonderful Yuri.”

Yuri laughed, leaning into Victor’s hand. “We really should get out of here now, it’s kind of creepy down here.”

Taking Victor’s hand, the two walked up a staircase on one side of the room. The corridor was dark, and they weren’t sure they were going the right way, but after climbing for a while, they finally saw a light at the end of the stairway. They hurried up the last few stairs and found themselves in the courtyard of the church they had just been under. A large bonfire illuminated the square, and lying in front of the fire, was Yurio.

“Yurio!” Yuri yelled, and the two ran over to the younger boy. Yuri knelt down next to him. Yurio’s clothing was mostly torn, but his body had been bandaged by someone. As Yuri gently touched Yurio’s shoulder, he stirred. His eyes slowly opened and came into focus, and when he saw Victor kneeling next to Yuri he smiled.

“You did it pig,” Yurio said, no malice in his voice.

Yuri laughed. “I wouldn’t have been able to get through it without you Yurio. Thank you.”

Yurio gently sat up, wincing. “How did I get here? I don’t remember anything after I fell in the water.”

“I brought you here.”

The group looked up to figure out the source of the new voice, and they saw their answer, within the flickering of the flames.

“Miss Minako!” Yuri shouted, jumping to his feet. “Why?”

Minako smiled. “I’m just a puppet Yuri. I mimic the actions of humans. I wanted to help you in some way. I have no regrets now. So please don’t cry for me.”

Yuri hadn’t even realized he had started crying. He swiped at his eyes, but he couldn’t make the tears stop. He felt an arm around his shoulder, and saw Victor standing next to him, smiling sadly.

“You and the prince should dance for me,” Minako said. “I want to see it before the end.”

Yuri nodded, choking on his tears. “Of course.”

[ ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/158968595@N05/29828822128/in/photostream/)

Victor bowed to Yuri, inviting him to dance, and together, the two began to dance a pas de deux. It was everything Yuri had ever wanted. He knew he’d be happy if he could dance with Victor forever.

…

_Thus, the love of the swan overcame the evil magic. The prince regained his feeling of love, and the two danced, expressing their feelings to all their followers, wishing this happiness would last for all eternity._

_…_

Yakov sat on a rocking chair in the land outside of time, watching events unfold through a gear shaped portal, his lips pressed together in a smile. He was impressed by the piglet. Being able to convey his feelings through dance and landing the heart of the prince was something he hadn’t expected to happen.

“ ** _Well, the story is far from over_** _,”_ Yakov mused to himself, standing and smoothing out his clothing. “ ** _Quite far from it_**.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tutu's solo Pas de Deux may be one of the hardest things I've ever written, action scenes are really difficult for me and I wanted the Pas de Deux to be impactful, I hope that came through!
> 
> That's the end of chapter 13! I may or may not have made myself cry writing the scene where Yuri reveals he's Tutu to Victor. I just love them so much and they're so cute. But yay, they're finally together! ~~Sadly they're not going to be happy for very long, you know if you've seen the anime, I'm so sorry~~
> 
> The fic is not over! However this first 'arc' is. The next arc may not start for a little while because as you can tell, I changed quite a bit from the anime and there's some plot things I have to figure out... so I gotta brainstorm for a bit. The fic is not dead tho, I will come back as soon as I can.
> 
> Thank you all for sticking with this fic and leaving your comments and kudos, they really make my day.
> 
> All of the art in this fic was drawn by me! ~~I drew like four pictures in a day im dying~~
> 
> This fic is not beta'd so if you find something wrong, let me know so I can fix it! 
> 
> As always, if you want to talk to me about yoi or princess tutu or anything, feel free to leave a comment here or message me on my [ tumblr](http://cowlover2.tumblr.com)! (if you message me on tumblr be sure to tell me you came from the fic, otherwise I might just think you're a spambot, :\ )


	14. Monster Raven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Life moves on after the battle they had with Kraehe. But when Victor suddenly collapses during ballet practice, the two Yuri's can't seem to help thinking something else is is going wrong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm backkkkkkkk.
> 
> Honestly I didn't think it would take me this long to get back to this fanfic, but life ended up getting crazy on me and I ended up getting a job and having to move to another city. Fanfiction kind of fell to the back burner as I got used to everything. Also I feel bad because I've had like half of this chapter sitting on my computer for like two weeks now. But I'm back and hopefully I'll be able to get more chapters out soon.
> 
> Also I'm just gonna say I'm sorry now. I want Victuuri to be happy just like you do. But if you know Princess Tutu... you know true happiness won't happen for a little bit longer. I hope you'll stick around to see it!
> 
> Without further ado, here's chapter 14 and the start of arc 2!

_Once upon a time, there was a man who died._

_The prince and the raven from the man’s story escaped the pages and did battle. It ended with the prince taking out his own heart and using a forbidden power to trap the raven._

_In a certain town, the prince who had lost his heart met a piglet. Because of his love for the prince, the piglet was able to also turn into a prince and he gathered the lost shards of the storybook prince’s shattered heart. The storybook prince gradually regained his feelings and at long last he even regained his feeling of love, and the two princes lived happily ever after._

_Or did they?_

_After all, the piglet is fated to turn into a speck of light and vanish the moment he tells the prince of his love for him._

_…_

Yuri once again found himself in a field, awash with golden light. The sound of the grass moved around him like ocean waves. It was peaceful here.

A quiet song built around him, and Yuri saw Victor, in his full princely attire, dancing gracefully through the grasses to the building tune.

“ _Victor, finally a prince again,”_ Yuri thought to himself. He smiled sadly, looking down at the small hooves that he currently had. Victor was a prince, but it looked as though Yuri was just a piglet, no longer a boy.

However, Victor came over to him and took his hoof, and suddenly he was a boy again, dressed in a flowing white top with white tights. They began to dance a pas de deux together, and Yuri felt his heart swell from happiness. He never thought in all his life that he could love someone so deeply, and be loved the same way. If he could stay by Victor’s side forever, then he knew he would never feel true sadness.

The music abruptly ended around the dancing pair. Victor stopped dancing and stepped away from Yuri, leaving him puzzled. Then, Yuri became horrified, as Victor brought his arms down, forming his fingers into fists and crossing his wrists over each other.  The prince’s face looked downward in a solemn grimace.

“ _The… the mime for death?”_ Yuri thought. “Victor, what? What does that mean? Victor you can’t die!”

Victor uncrossed his arms and slowly backed away from Yuri, a thick gray mist beginning to cover the meadow. The sky darkened, and Yuri heard thunder rumble through the sky. Yuri reached out to Victor, but his hand only encountered smoke where the prince had been moments before.

“Victor wait!” Yuri called out, beginning to run through the fog, looking for him. He was soon enveloped by the mist, unable to tell if he was still running forward. “Victor come back! Victor!”

Yuri’s eyes snapped open, and he saw the wooden ceiling of his dorm room. Warm tears dripped from his eyes. Somehow during the night Yuri had kicked off his blankets and they were on a pile on the floor, leaving him feeling cold.

“It was only a dream,” he whispered to himself, wiping the tears from his face. Victor was fine. Yuri had just seen him yesterday, and he had been fine. He took a deep breath. Everything was fine.

A soft knock came from his door, shaking Yuri from his thoughts. “Who is it?”

“It’s me,” came the muffled voice of Phichit. “You wanna walk to class together?”

“Um,” Yuri replied. “You can go on ahead, I’m not quite ready!”

“Alright, don’t be late though or Ciao Ciao is going to flip out,” Phichit answered, and Yuri heard soft footsteps of his friend walking away. Yuri jumped down onto the floor and rushed to get ready. Phichit was right, Celestino really hated when his students were late, especially if they lived in the dorms and not off campus. He hurriedly slipped on his shoes, grabbing his bag and stumbled out the door.

Yuri flew out of the dorm, adjusting his hair which he just realized he didn’t brush, when he hit something in his path. Not something, a someone.

“Good morning Yuri, why are you in such a rush? We’ve got plenty of time.”

Yuri’s heart skipped a beat and he felt his face flush when he realized who he had literally run into. He looked up and saw Victor smiling fondly at him. His hair was braided neatly down his neck, but a small strand had fallen from the braid and was framing the boy’s face nicely. He smelled nice, like flowers.

“Victor!” Yuri finally managed to squeak out. “I’m so sorry!”

“It’s alright Yuri,” Victor replied. “I was hoping to see you anyways.”

“Barf, get a room you two.”

Yuri glanced over and saw Yurio standing behind Victor, a look of annoyance painting his face.

“Yurio! You’re alright!” Yuri exclaimed, relieved. It had been a week since their battle against Kraehe, and the whole time Yurio had been recovering in the dorms. Victor had kept him posted on how the boy was doing, but Yuri was glad to see Yurio back on his feet.

“Alright is an exaggeration, you two may make me vomit,” Yurio replied, rolling his eyes. “Let’s go, we’re going to be late.” Yurio stomped off, leading the group.

Victor smiled brightly at Yuri, taking his hand. The two began to walk after Yurio.

“How was your morning Yuri?” Victor asked as they walked. “Did you sleep well?”

“Mostly, I had a strange dream though,” Yuri replied, his brow furrowing as he remembered the mysterious omen in his dream.

“I had a strange dream as well,” Victor answered.

“Really?” Yuri asked. “What about?”

“I don’t remember most of it,” Victor replied. “I felt… trapped somewhere. In a dark place. But I don’t remember why, or how I got there.”

“Weird,” Yuri replied.

“What was your dream about?” Victor asked, looking over at Yuri.

“Ah, well,” Yuri stammered. “You were there, and we were dancing, but then you disappeared and I couldn’t find you. I kept running and running but you were gone.”

Victor stopped and took both of Yuri’s hands. “Yuri, I’ll always be here for you, you have to know that.”

Yuri’s eyes widened, shocked at how serious Victor had gotten all of the sudden. “I-I know Victor. It was just a dream, I know you’re here.” Victor stared at Yuri for a moment then dropped one of his hands as they continued walking towards Gold Crown Academy. Yuri leaned into Victor’s arm and smiled. Victor was here, everything was alright.

…

“YURI WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN?”

Yuri jumped, dropping the ballet slipper he had been holding in his hand before he had been shouted at by his best friend. “When did what happen?”

“The hand holding cuteness of you and Victor!” Phichit exclaimed.

“Shh, stop yelling!” Yuri hissed, trying to calm down his overeager friend. He could feel the eyes of his classmates turned toward him and his face flushed crimson. “It’s a recent thing, I was going to tell you.”

“How did it happen, I need to know every detail,” Phichit prodded, laying an arm around Yuri. “It’s not every day that my best friend lands the man of his dreams now is it?”

“It wasn’t a big deal,” Yuri murmured. “He just, confessed that he liked me and the rest is history.”

“Wait,” Phichit paused, grabbing Yuri’s face. “You mean to tell me that _Victor_ , not only the best dancer at this school, but also one of the most emotionally unavailable people on the planet, confessed to _you_? And you don’t think that’s a big deal?”

“Please leggo of mah face,” Yuri mumbled, his face being slightly squished by his friend. Phichit let go and Yuri continued. “I mean, of course I think it’s a big deal, I’ve honestly never dreamed this could be possible, but I don’t know. Victor makes this relationship feel… natural. Like it was always going to happen. Like he had no doubts about it, he just wanted to be with me. And it’s… nice, to feel so sure about something like that.”

“Yuri that is literally the cutest thing that’s ever come out of your mouth,” Phichit said, causing Yuri to blush again. “Man, I wish you were in the advanced class so I could see you and Victor dance together all the time. Speaking of class, if we don’t go now, Ciao Ciao will yell at us.”

…

“Class, have I ever told you about when I met the famous dancer Roberto Bolle?” Celestino mused while his students were performing their pre-dance stretches. When met with blank stares, he continued on. “I was but a young boy myself, fairly new to the ballet world, and one day my ballet school got the magnificent opportunity to assist with a production starring Signore Bolle. We got to go backstage, help with the production, even observe the practices. Well as I was walking to the stage to deliver a prop, there he was, Signore Bolle. I was awestruck. This man was someone who I idolized, who the whole ballet world looked up to at the time. So, I watched him, hoping to glean some insight on how to better my own skills.

As I watched, I didn’t see magnificent jumps or acrobatics. He only practiced the basics that day, going through each basic even though I’m sure he had done them thousands of times. When it looked as though he was finishing his practice I couldn’t contain my curiosity any longer, I had to ask him why. Why only practice the basics?

I’ll never forget what he told me,” Celestino paused, the curious eyes of his pupils glued onto him. “He told me ‘Someone who has not mastered the basics cannot hope to master advanced techniques.” Celestino looked lost in thought for a moment before continuing on. “So even as you learn more challenging material in ballet, you must never forget your starting points. I hope you all think of those words as you practice. They were very helpful to me on my ballet journey, and I hope they can help you as well.” He clapped. “That’s enough of my story time, advanced class, please go to your class room, beginner class, line up at the barre.”

Victor had had trouble paying attention to Celestino’s words, even though he knew they were important. However, as soon as he had entered the practice room, his chest had been giving him awful pains. He usually felt some discomfort after receiving a new heart shard, but it had been a week since he had been given the shard of love. It shouldn’t be affecting him anymore. Every beat of his pieced together heart seemed to be slamming against his chest, he almost felt like it was hard to breathe. A cold sweat was covering his body. What was this? What was wrong?

He felt something shake his shoulder, looked up and saw it was Yurio. The blonde was saying something, but Victor couldn’t make out what. Victor saw the other students separating into their classes, so Victor figured it was time for practice to start. He shakily stood from where he was seated on the floor, but as soon as he was up the pain felt much worse. This pain was worse than any pain he had gotten from the heart shards. What was this? Victor desperately gripped the front of his shirt, he wanted to tell Yurio, Yuri, anyone, wanted to say how much pain he was in, but the edges of his vision were becoming hazy, and before he knew it, everything went dark.

…

“Victor? What’s wron- Victor!”

Yuri’s head whipped around to see Victor collapsing onto the floor, his hands clutching at his chest. Yurio knelt down next to him, a hand gently placed onto Victor’s shoulder.

“What happened?” Celestino asked, rushing over to the fallen student.

“I- I don’t know,” Yurio replied. Yuri was shocked to hear the fear in the younger boy’s voice. “He just collapsed out of nowhere, he was fine all morning I don’t understand-"

“It’s alright Yuri,” Celestino said calmly, rubbing the shaken boy’s back. “Victor’s going to be fine, I’m going to bring him to the nurse’s office and they’ll do everything they can for him.” As Celestino scooped Victor into his arms, Victor was unresponsive. His face was scrunched in pain.

“Alright class, practice your basics and I’ll be back as soon as I can,” Celestino said, then he walked out of the practice room, leaving the students in stunned silence.

Yuri quietly walked over to Yurio and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Yuri, are you okay?”

“No, no I’m not,” Yurio replied, his voice shaking. “He was fine, he’s been fine, what could have happened-"

“It will be alright,” Yuri interrupted. “The doctors will figure out what’s wrong with him.”

“How are you so calm?” Yurio snapped.

“I’m terrified,” Yuri replied. “Part of me thinks that this is my fault, if I hadn’t been restoring his heart this wouldn’t have happened. But we don’t even know what _this_ is. We have to be strong for Victor, okay?”

Yurio took a deep breath and nodded. “For Victor.”

…

Kraehe walked into a large chamber, mostly filled with darkness. Lights did emanate from several large white feathers standing upwards in the room, casting eerie shadows. He could hear nothing, except his soft footfalls and his heart beating in his ears. He was always nervous to come here, even though he felt he shouldn’t be.

“Father?” Kraehe called out softly. “I’ve come to see you.”

A loud groan filled the room and two huge sets of sharp black talons set down in front of Kraehe. Two huge red eyes looked down at Kraehe. Kraehe gently placed a hand on one of the raven’s claws.

“ **My darling son, it’s good to see you,** ” the raven said, his deep voice causing a rumble throughout the chamber.

“How are you feeling today father?” Kraehe asked.

“ **Not bad** ,” the Raven responded. “ **Not good either**.”

“Well I have some news that I think will cheer you up some,” Kraehe said. “That raven’s blood that you gave to me, that I soaked the prince’s heart shard of love in, it seems to have started affecting him.”

“ **I’m glad to hear that** ,” the Raven replied.

“Soon he’ll stop changing, he’ll stop leaving me behind,” Kraehe said, looking down at his black ballet shoes.

“ **Yes, and there will be no way for that meddling Princess Tutu to stop this process.”**

“Thank you, father,” Kraehe replied. “I could never have done this without you.”

“ **Of course, my dear one. If you are happy, then I am content**.”

…

Yurio opened the door of his dorm room and was shocked to see Victor sitting at the window, looking out through a crack in the curtain. The room was dark, the only light coming from the window.

“Victor!” Yuri called out. “Are you alright? What happened during practice, did they figure out what was wrong? Should you even be out of the hospital yet?”

Victor turned his head towards Yuri and immediately the boy felt a shiver down his spine. Something was wrong. He could tell just by the way Victor looked. His normally perfect silver hair flew wildly around his head and his eyes… they looked strange. Almost as if they were glowing.

“There’s nothing wrong with me,” Victor replied, his voice hollow, but it almost sounded poisonous, as if the prince’s words weren’t meant to be heard.

“Are you sure?” Yuri replied. “You don’t sound alright.”

“And what if there was something wrong?” Victor said, quickly standing up from the window seat. Suddenly Victor was in Yuri’s face, and Yuri wasn’t even sure how Victor had gotten there that fast. “It’s not like you can pierce my heart again, you broke the only thing that could do the job.”

Yuri was scared. He had never thought that Victor could ever scare him, but right now he was terrified. This wasn’t Victor, this wasn’t who Victor wanted to be. No heart shard could have made Victor this way, there had to be something else wrong.

“Are you scared Yuri?” Victor’s poisonous voice asked. “I thought you would be happy, I got another shard of my heart back. Shouldn’t you be glad?”

“Your heart isn’t whole yet Victor,” Yuri cautioned.

“That’s true,” Victor replied. He slowly backed away from Yuri and looked back out the window. “I have to hurry and get the rest of the pieces, so I can give my complete heart to the Raven.”

“What on earth?” Yuri breathed, unable to believe his ears. Did Victor just say he was going to give his heart to the Raven? That made no sense! Yuri reached out and yanked the sleeve of Victor’s nightgown, turning the prince towards him.

“Who the hell are you?” Yuri shouted.

Victor smiled, his grin unsettling but before he could reply, his smile collapsed into a grimace and he gripped the front of his nightgown, wobbling. Yuri reached and balanced the boy.

“Yuri you have to help me,” Victor whimpered. His voice no longer contained the malice it had just held.

“Victor what’s happening, I can’t help if you don’t tell me,” Yuri replied.

“Yuri it’s so dark and it hurts so much, I can’t bear it,” Victor cried. “I don’t know what’s happening to me.”

“We’ll figure it out, you’ll be okay,” Yuri answered.

Victor’s shoulders started to shake, and softly, but getting louder, he began to laugh. It was a wicked laugh filled with no joy. Victor shoved Yuri away, backing towards the window.

“You want to know who I am Yuri?” Victor spat, the poison once again lacing his words. “I’ll show you, just you. And I’ll show you right now.” Victor slowly tuned and opened the window, a breeze blowing the curtains inwards. Victor stood up on top of the window seat.

“Watch closely Yuri,” Victor said over his shoulder.

“Victor, no stop!” Yuri shouted, rushing forward. He reached out, but his hand grasped at nothing as Victor tilted himself forwards, falling out of the window.

“VICTOR!” Yuri screamed, leaning out the window. He almost cried in relief, as he saw the dorm’s courtyard fill with flowers, and Victor was slowly spinning towards the ground with Prince Tutu.

Yuri had been walking back from the library when he just happened to look up at Victor’s dorm room, wondering if Victor was alright. He had been surprised to see the window of Victor’s room fly open, then horrified as he saw Victor jump out from the opening. Quicker than he ever thought he could move, he had dropped all of his things and transformed into Prince Tutu, not caring at that moment if anyone could see him. Spinning fast, he created blue roses that covered the ground, and he leaped and caught Victor’s wrist, pulling the boy towards him. He held onto Victor, slowly spinning them towards the ground.

“Tutu,” Victor breathed. It was as if a fog had cleared from his mind. For some reason, Tutu had brought clarity to him. Yuri had brought clarity to him.

“I’m here, my prince,” Tutu replied, placing his forehead against Victor’s. “I’ll always be here.”

As they touched the ground, the fog and the pain began to creep back into Victor’s mind. He desperately gripped onto the front of Tutu’s tailcoat.

“Tutu, please,” Victor gasped, collapsing against Tutu’s frame. “Help me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ... I'm sorry. I don't like doing mean things to the characters I promise (although creepy Victor was a little satisfying to write I'm not gonna lie)
> 
> Side note Roberto Bolle is a real ballet dancer in Italy. I don't know much about him, I just kind of googled italian ballet dancers and he came up and sounded cool so I used him. I don't own his name or his likeness I just kind of used it to move the story along. Google him if you want to learn more about him.
> 
> This fic is not beta'd so if you find something wrong, let me know so I can fix it! 
> 
> As always, if you want to talk to me about yoi or princess tutu or anything, feel free to leave a comment here or message me on my [ tumblr](http://cowlover2.tumblr.com)! (if you message me on tumblr be sure to tell me you came from the fic, otherwise I might just think you're a spambot, :\ )


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